Well, this is it: in three weeks exactly, the curtain will fall on Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit with the release of the retitled The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. That means we’re done with the New Zealand filmmaker’s second three-year cycle of releasing Tolkien adaptation – and also done, perhaps, with all big screen tours through the magical realm of Middle-earth for good (unless Jackson or someone else elects to turn The Silmarillion into a feature).

But all farewells and adieus aside, we have one final hundred-and-fifty-plus minutes of wanton CGI spectacle to endure – not to mention the marathon screenings of the entire trilogy that Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema, and MGM will be hosting at theaters across the country. (And how many of you will hold your own The Lord of the Rings parties once you’ve got each chapter of The Hobbit at home?)


In celebration of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies‘ imminent premiere – and as a send-off for all films connected with Middle-earth – the folks at WB cut together the above clip show boasting all manner of moments from all three Lord of the Rings films. Relive moments from The Fellowship of the Ring, to The Two Towers, to The Return of the King – alongside beats from each entry in the chronicles of The Hobbit.

Hobbit Five Armies Gandalf The Hobbit Legacy Trailer: Return To Middle earth, One Last Time



It starts as a nostalgia piece; the first minute or so plays on all of your fond feelings for Jackson’s work on The Lord of the Rings, a landmark franchise during its heyday and still a major watershed today. The rest, however, feels more like an advertisement for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, complimented by a recap of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The Hobbit Lord of the Rings Comic Con 2014 The Hobbit Legacy Trailer: Return To Middle earth, One Last Time

Given the number of trailers and teasers available to pitch The Hobbit‘s forthcoming climax, more promotion doesn’t seem necessary. But the real goal here is to tie all six movies together in one montage. There’s a gap in quality (or, speaking more objectively, in critical and commercial reactions) between Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films and his efforts on The Hobbit, but the two sagas remain inextricably linked no matter how wide the gulf. Audiences may not need to be reminded, of course, but this legacy mosaic does exactly that.

The wait for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be over soon, but in the meantime, answer us this: what are your favorite scenes from both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit?

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies arrives in theaters on December 17th, 2014.