Now, I don't mean I'm going to "tell the future" or anything like that.
I'm just going to make some basic assumptions about the upcoming Hobbit movie based on the two previews that have been released those far.
The Desolation of Smaug
1. We'll meet up with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Thirteen Dwarves int he general vicinity of where we left them in An Unexpected Journey, near that rock pillar the Eagles placed them after their battle with Azog and the Wargs.
2. After some walking (and potentially some moaning), Gandalf will take them to stay with his buddy, Beorn the Shapeshifter, who can turn himself into a bear when needed.
3. Beorn will loan them ponies, and they will set off for Mirkwood. Thorin, however, will give Gandalf a big stink about going to Mirkwood, since that happens to be the Kingdom of the Woodland Elves, ruled by Thranduil, who also happens to be the same Elf King who refused to help Thorin's people after Smaug attacked Erebor (as we saw in Unexpected Journey). We may even get a nice little debate between Gandalf and Thorin on this matter.
4. They reach Mirkwood, and send the ponies back to Beorn. Gandalf informs them that he's going off on his own adventure, and he'll meet up with them later. He gives them very basic instructions, "Don't leave the path, and don't drink the river water."
5. But, they don't listen, and get lost.
6. They send Bilbo up a tree to see how close they are to the other side of the forest. At the top, Bilbo finds beautiful scenery and lovely butterflies, but no sign of the other side of the forest.
7. Shortly thereafter, they are assaulted and captured by giant spiders (none other than those spiders we saw crawling away from Radagast's house in Unexpected Journey). Bilbo is the only one who manages to escape. With the help of his magic ring, he fights off the spiders and frees the Dwarves...
8. ...Who are then promptly captured by the Elves of Mirkwood. Bilbo escapes again with his magic ring, but follows close behind them.
9a. The Elves take the Dwarves (and Bilbo follows) to Thranduil. Somehow, the truth about their quest comes out (whether Thranduil guesses this or one of the Dwarves tells him remains to be seen). But, for one reason or another, Thranduil agrees to help them. And, shock of shocks, Thorin accepts his help. But, from what I've gathered from the preview, the Dwarves still don't trust Thranduil or his Elves.
9b. The other possibility here is that, when the Elves take the Dwarves to Thranduil, they refuse to say anything, and are therefore locked up in the Elves's prison. This would be more accurate to the book, and I'm personally looking forward to watching this scene in the movie. The only reason I have a feeling it won't quite turn out like this is that in the first preview, Thranduil seems to know a lot more about the Quest than he should ("A Quest to reclaim a Homeland, and slay a dragon.").
10. Regardless of what happens, Bilbo (who is still wearing his magic ring) helps the Dwarves escape by having them ride down a river in barrels. This is an iconic Hobbit moment, so I'm really hoping Peter Jackson and Company haven't totally killed it.
11. After floating in their barrels for a while, they all eventually end up in Laketown, which is a town built on the lake near the ruins of Dale (the Human town Smaug destroyed when he attacked Erebor).
12. Meanwhile, Gandalf goes to the ruins of Dol Guldor to investigate what Radagast has told him about the Necromancer. While there, he discovers the tombs of the 9 former kings-turned-wraiths broken open, indicating that they have (somehow) been brought back to life as the 9 Black Riders. While, I do not believe this to be strictly true to the book, it is kind of a nice tie-in to the LOTR trilogy.
13. Radagast also happens to be in Dol Guldor, and Gandalf finds him there. While they're there, they are separated by an invisible force field wall (kind of like something out of Star Trek or Doctor Who). They are attacked by Orcs.
14. This is not indicated in the previews at all, but I'm going to make the basic assumption that Radagast isn't really Radagast in this section of the movie. Radagast has done his bit of investigation, so (to me, at least) it seems unlikely that he would return to Dol Guldor for any reason. It is my opinion that who we think is Radagast is really Sauron in disguise. I have simple reasons for thinking this;
- We know we'll meet Sauron eventually since they've got a guy listed as the character on the movie's IMDb page (and I trust IMDb)
- "Radagast" and Gandalf are separated by the force field thing in Dol Guldor. If Sauron and the Orcs wanted both Gandalf and Radagast dead, why separate them?
- The other thing is Radagast's line (from the 1st preview), "One of us are trapped." Why only one? That, to me, indicates that "Radagast" actually "knows" what's going on, and that the trap has actually be set for Gandalf, and therefore Radagast isn't really Radagast at all.
It's entirely possibly that I'm over-thinking this. But, I do think it is possible.
15. Meanwhile, Thorin and Company continue walking, and eventually reach the location of the secret door. They find the keyhole, and Thorin uses his key to open the door. They send Bilbo in to investigate.
16. Bilbo finds himself in the vast treasure room of Erebor. But, the gold isn't the only thing there. Smaug reveals himself (at last!). And here occurs Bilbo and Smaug's iconic Hobbit conversation (which I know is going to be in the movie because part of it is in the 2nd preview, and Martin Freeman said it was in the movie himself during an interview).
17. Bilbo returns to the Dwarves. Smaug comes out, and the Dwarves just manage to get inside before Smaug destroys the secret door.
18. Smaug then flies off to attack Laketown, but is eventually brought down by Bard the Bowman, thus ending his reign of terror. I'm assuming this scene will be the climax, since the movie
is entitled
The Desolation of Smaug.
19. Whether or not the movie will end there or if they'll show the Dwarves wandering into the treasure room, I don't know. But, in my opinion, I think it would be cool if they ended the movie by panning over to the piles of gold, and then slowly zooming in on where we can just see a piece of the Arkenstone sticking out of the pile. I think that would be a beautiful tie-in to the 3rd Hobbit movie, because the Arkenstone will become an important factor in that movie.
So, those are my basic assumptions about how the movie will play out. By no means am I saying this is exactly what will happen, nor will I be upset if some of my assumptions turn out to be wrong. This is just a series of educated guesses based on the previews I have seen, and what I know about the book. I'll have to wait until December to find out if any of it is right or not.
About 63 more days until The Desolation of Smaug hits theaters! Are you ready?
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