A few days ago we reported that Peter Jackson was ‘deep in talks’ with Warner Bros about turning the two planned Hobbit movies into a trilogy. It’s now been confirmed that’s exactly what’s going to happen, with THR reporting that we’ll get The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and There & Back Again in December 2012 and 2013 as planned, with a third, currently untitled movie arriving some time Summer 2014.

While there’d been rumblings of discontent at the idea of turning it into a trilogy, especially as The Hobbit is a shorter book than any of the three Lord Of The Rings novels, Jackson is ready to defend the decision. He says in a statement, “Upon recently viewing a cut of the first film, and a chunk of the second, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and I were very pleased with the way the story was coming together. We recognized that the richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, gave rise to a simple question: do we tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as filmmakers and fans was an unreserved ‘yes.’

“We know the strength of our cast and of the characters they have brought to life. We know creatively how compelling and engaging the story can be and—lastly, and most importantly—we know how much of the tale of Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur would remain untold if we did not fully realize this complex and wonderful adventure. I’m delighted that New Line, MGM and Warner Bros. are equally enthusiastic about bringing fans this expansive tale across three films.”

It’s unclear is this means more footage will need to be shot, although Jackson has previously said he’s always intended to include a lot of material Tolkien included in the appendixes to Lord Of The Rings and that he’s shot a lot of extra footage. We’ll reserve judgement, but it does seem a bit of a stretch to say we really need The Hobbit as a trilogy.

As The Hobbit is a shorter book than any of the three parts of Lord Of The Rings, many wondered if there was enough plot for two films, but at Comic-Con, Peter Jackson suggested he was thinking as actually making it into three. Now THR reports that the director is in “accelerated” talks with the studio about making a third movie.

The filmmaker has said that he shot an abundance of material that he would not be able to fit into either of the planned movies, which sparked speculation that a third movie may be in the works. Warner Bros. is now reportedly on board with the proposal, if they can make it for the right price, since new deals will have to be negotiated with cast members. At any rate, a decision must be made very soon, according to an unidentified source close to the production, “If we’re going to do it, we have to make a decision soon. It’s strongly driven by the filmmakers’ desire to tell more of the story.”

If a third movie is given the green light, shooting will likely take place for a couple of months in New Zealand, sometime next summer. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slated for release on December 14th, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again arriving in cinemas December 13th, 2013. The proposed third movie would likely debut during December of 2014, if it comes to fruition.

Today is December 14th – which means it’s exactly one year – only 366 sleeps – until the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey! To celebrate Warner/New Line has released a new statement, including a full synopsis for the much-anticipated movie. Read it below…

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of two films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The second film will be “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.”

Both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins. Also reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast also includes (in alphabetical order) Richard Armitage, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Evangeline Lilly, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, and Aidan Turner.

The screenplays for both “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” are by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson. Jackson is also producing the films, together with Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Ken Kamins, Toby Emmerich and Zane Weiner, with Boyens serving as co-producer.

Under Jackson’s direction, both movies are being shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming is taking place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

Among the creative behind-the-scenes team returning to Jackson’s crew are director of photography Andrew Lesnie, production designer Dan Hennah, conceptual designers Alan Lee and John Howe, composer Howard Shore and make-up and hair designer Peter King. The costumes are designed by Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor. The score is being composed by Howard Shore.

Taylor is also overseeing the design and production of weaponry, armour and prosthetics which are once again being made by the award winning Weta Workshop. Weta Digital take on the visual effects for both films, led by the film’s visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri. Post production will take place at Park Road Post Production in Wellington.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” are productions of New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production. Warner Bros Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television licensing, being handled by MGM.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” will be released beginning December 14, 2012. The second film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” is slated for release the following year, beginning December 13, 2013.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser