The Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and beloved film franchises in history. Naturally, when it was announced that director Peter Jackson would be helming an adaptation of The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien's prequel to the LOTR series  - fan anticipation went through the roof. Well, it's time to start working on your bearded wizard costume, because The Hobbit production is nearing completion, and we now have our first look at the finished film...even if it won't be released for another year.

The Hobbit Trailer

From the looks of the trailer, it seems as though they've decided to go in a funnier, more family-friendly direction, which is likely to anger some older fans, but is consistent with the tone of the novel. More importantly, it's got Elijah Wood reprising his role as Frodo Baggins, Sir Ian McKellen returning as Gandalf, and a bunch of creepy CGI effects are back as Gollum. Just when I stopped having those nightmares.