The final part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy – The Battle of the Five Armies – is set to be released in an extended edition in cinemas on the 5th October.
The theatrical release of the film, at 2 hours and 24 minutes, is the shortest of Jackson’s six Middle-earth films. Even with the expected extra 30 minutes that would make this film the shortest in the two trilogies. It is not yet known whether the Extended Edition will be released in cinemas the UK and Europe, but the MPAA have given the Extended Edition an “R” rating (roughly equivalent to a “15” in the UK) for violent scenes. Previous films have never been rated more than a “PG-13” or “12A”.
Content rumoured to be in the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies includes:
- More Beorn. It has already been confirmed by Peter Jackson that we will see more of Beorn; presumably of him attacking orcs and bats;
- Thorin’s funeral and Dáin’s coronation – the former of which is widely expected and has certainly been filmed;
- Dwarven chariot race. Richard Armitage said: “There’s also a fantastic chariot chase during the battle – they built this incredible chariot with a crossbow on the back, and I think we had Dwalin and Balin and a couple of the other dwarves on the chariot.“;
- Various quotes from trailers that didn’t actually make it into the final film.
For those who are not interested in seeing the film at the cinema, the Extended Edition will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on the 16th November.
