Bilbo Sets off in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Get ready to meet the young Mr. Bilbo Baggins in the flesh, lads and lassies. We have him in a fresh new film still and we have in a jolly good video. So, let’s return to Middle Earth, shall we?

Our picture comes from The Hobbit movie’s official Facebook page. Bilbo is portrayed by Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is Peter Jackson’s first half of a prequel adventure to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the photo, Bilbo is looking slightly introspective as he no doubt readies for his unexpected journey. He wears a green Shire vest and nice red overcoat. He has his walking stick.

As for today’s video, it is something you won’t want to miss. Yes, oh yes, I got chills. And here I thought the new Batman trailer was the most gripping one around right now. You’ll witness singing dwarves, danger, intrigue, and familiar faces in scenarios you may never have imagined. You’ll even get reacquainted with perhaps the most unusual J. R. R. Tolkien character of all, the creature known as Gollum.

“You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back,” explains Gandalf to Bilbo. Of course, it’s followed by Bilbo’s grim notion that there’s no guarantee he’ll make it back alive.

From New Line Cinema, MGM, and Warner Bros. Pictures, the epic is coming in 2012 with a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro, and Peter Jackson.