This Friday sees the release of the biggest film of the summer, and perhaps year, so studios are doing everything in their power to get trailers for their upcoming tentpoles in front of audiences. Warner Bros. will be showcasing a few of their own in front of Man of Steel, with our first look at 300: Rise Of An Empire, as well as Peter Jackson‘s follow-up to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Today, we’ve got the debut trailer for the latter, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which finds Martin Freeman returning as Bilbo Baggins and facing his most intimidating threat yet, the titular dragon. We were fairly disappointed in Jackson’s first entry into his new trilogy, but if this film can shed the needless exposition and deliver large-scale action with stakes, we’ll be on board. Check out our first preview below, along with eight new photos, and the poster if you missed it.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits theaters on December 13th.