Back to Middle Earth

A little under a decade since he 'wrapped' the last of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and two years after he was dubbed a Kiwi Knight in the Queen's New Year's Honours, Sir Peter Jackson is about to unveil the first in his latest Tolkien tryptych.

The Hobbit: A Unexpected Journey is to be this year's Royal Film Performance - the 65th since A Matter of Life and Death in 1946 - on December 12 ahead of its release in 2-D, 3-D and IMAX two days later.

With Martin Freeman (below) creating the central role of Bilbo Baggins, the film and its sequels, The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again, to be released annually until 2014, will also signal the return of many old favourites from the earlier films.

These include Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Sir Ian Holm (the elder Bilbo), Christopher Lee (Saruman) and, of course, Andy Serkis (Gollum).