The Hobbit (film series)

The Hobbit is a 2012-14 fantasy adventure film series created by Peter Jackson. Based on the children's book if the same name by JRR Tolkien, the film series serves as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which was released from 2001 to 2003. ) Initially a two-partner film, it became a three part film series: An Unexpected Journey (released in 2012), The Desolation of Smaug (released in 2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (originally titled as There and Back Again, released in 2014)

The film stars Martin Freeman as the eponymous character, Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield and Ian McKellen as Gandalf, with Evangeline Lily as Tauriel, Lee Pace as Thranduil, Luke Evans as Bard, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ken Stott as Balin, Aidan Turner as Kíli, Dean O'Gorman as Fíli, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, and James Nesbitt as Bofur, Manu Bennett as Azog the Defiler, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug. Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and the late Christopher Lee all reprised their roles as Gollum, Frodo Baggins, Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman from The Lord of the Rings series.