New trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

Let us be perfectly clear about this. The Hobbit is not The Lord of the Rings. It is a whimsical children's adventure of mild peril and curiosity. And yet, by the look of this latest trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson has been running rampant with his 'Epic' pump again.

Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (come on, you should know this) and the dwarven band, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), are... somewhere close to arriving at the dwarf kingdom of Erebor - currently suffering from an infestation of the dragon kind.

Will Bilbo be able to outwit Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch)? Will Gandalf realise the meaning of the darkness rising in the East? Will part two justify Jackson's decision to stretch a children's book into three films?

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is in cinemas from 13 December

(Images: All Star)