Bilbo and Gandalf have a chat in Bag End
maegwen: We get a glimpse of this scene early in the trailer, when Bilbo declares he is a “Baggins of Bag End!” Seemingly a change to the story here and an opportunity for some exposition, I reckon. Bilbo and Gandalf never have a sit-down to discuss in detail the proposed adventure. Definitely not in a calm and reasoned fashion such as this. But I like that Freeman’s Bilbo isn’t the fussbudget he often seems in the book. I’m wondering where this fits in — does Gandalf tell him more of the scheme before the dwarves turn up? Unlikely. Does this take place after the dwarves have ordered their breakfasts and rolled off to sleep? Maybe. The scene is also a good way — if it goes down as I expect — to show more of a relationship between the two (yes, yes, I know there isn’t supposed to be one) at the onset.
MrCere: Speaking of conversations between Gandalf and Bilbo, here is one while the dwarves wait outside. Call me crazy but I believe it is true! I do not believe the introduction to 13 dwarves will happen all at once and I do believe we will spend a lot of film one, perhaps the first third, in Hobbiton, including this scene to make it all clear. Exposition.
maegwen: You’re crazy. *grin* We’ll have to wait and see who is right! 🙂
“Can you promise that I will come back?”
“No.”
“And if you do, you will not be the same.”
I spy with my eye…
Demosthenes: Bilbo wandering, lost, through the goblin caverns in the Misty Mountains stumbles upon the golden ring that will change his life.
Earl: This is in Mirkwood … I wonder if this is one of the times they’ll subtly depict the Ring as “trying to get back to it’s Master”. It slips off Bilbo’s person but he finds it and uses it to rescue the Dwarves from the spiders.
Garfeimao: This is one of the most confusing bits, because Bilbo is not wearing a jacket, so it’s not the cave near Gollum’s island — Bilbo is wearing his coat in that image (toward the end of the trailer). So is this Mirkwood near the Spider’s domain? And did the Ring really fall off his finger or out of his pocket? If so, that is a departure from the book, to be sure.
Quickbeam: Although Bilbo finds the Ring near the shore of Gollum’s underground lake, this appears to be the Mirkwood setting — perhaps we can speculate the filmmakers have anachronistically placed the Ring in the foreground here just as “bait” to get us excited to see it in the trailer!
maegwen: Despite my earlier comments, I do like that there is a visual continuity between this and the trilogy. It would be completely and unnecessarily jarring if they were at complete odds with each other.
Closeup of Bilbo
Closeup
Bilbo come face-to-face with Gollum
Demosthenes: I wonder, even though there’s material from Mirkwood in this trailer, whether the Riddles in the Dark and Bilbo’s escape from Gollum will be the culmination of the first film. For one, there’s a lot of material sequentially later in the book that is not alluded to whatsoever: the Eagles and Beorn, for example. I think the placement here, at the end of the trailer, is a hint.
Garfeimao: In a deep cavern at the roots of the Misty Mountains, Bilbo discovers he is not alone. The look of dread on his face says everything, and then we hear Gollum’s voice for the first time. Can the Riddles in the Dark be far behind?
“My name is Bilbo Baggins.”
“Bagginses? What is a Bagginses?”
” … Precious”
EXPERIENCE IT IN IMAX 3D!
Demosthenes: We really mean it about the 3D!
Calisuri: I think I speak for all of Tolkien fandom when I say that Dec 14th 2012 will be a special day! Don’t worry, the wait will not take as long as you think 🙂
