Dean O’Gorman as Fili
Demosthenes: Fili the plate juggler. Could the plate juggling be a hint for (it’s certainly a nod to) the “chip the glass and crack the plates” scene from the novel?
maegwen: The plates are already flying about in this scene.”Impish” seems much more appropriate than “dwarvish.” I do hope we get at least a bit of the song, though it might be incongruous with “Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold” coming up afterward. Or a good juxtaposition?
MrCere: Will we have a ‘crack the plates’ song? I certainly wish for it and believe it would be a great contrast to the somber song we have already heard, giving us a look at both sides of the dwarves. However, I doubt it. Extended edition?
Aidan Turner as Kili
Demosthenes: Aidan Turner as Kili showing off some skills with the bow. Are we sure he’s not an elf?
maegwen: I think the theory someone half-jokingly mentioned some time back might be correct — in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth, young dwarves are less lumpy and not as hairy as older dwarves. Remember though, we still haven’t had a very clear scene of the dwarves’ height in proportion to man. Once we do, the grumbles that these are “elvish” dwarves may dwindle off. To be perfectly honest, it would have been hard to recognize Fili and Kili as the lighthearted younger dwarves of the company if they had looked more like the rest. “Show” don’t “tell” comes into play here. (I do hope Aidan Turner and Dean O’Gorman know what they’re in for once the films are released, though.)
MrCere: Even dwarven women swoon for this guy, I suspect.
Quickbeam: Kili and Bilbo in the Trollshaws — the lighting and trees suggest the same location where we see Bilbo recovering Sting (and the nighttime shots from FOTR with Weathertop-wounded Frodo).
Random note: In “The Hobbit” the dwarves do indeed use bows and arrows and is not a film embellishment.
John Callen as Oin
Demosthenes: Oin. He has a hearing horn — looks like he could be a little deaf.
Quickbeam: If Oin is portrayed as hard-of-hearing, you can expect other “adventure moments” in the film could be triggered by something critical not heard! “Hoot once like a barn-owl and twice like a screech-owl,” comes to mind.
Peter Hambleton as Glóin, father of Gimli
Random note: Note the strong family resemblance.
Calisuri: One of my favorite dwarves…he looks just perfect.
Demosthenes: Gloin, covered in spider webs, presumably in Mirkwood after escaping from the spiders. Note that Gloin is looking up at a taller person holding the keepsake. I believe an elf is holding that, and this is after the dwarves after captured by the elves of Mirkwood. I’ll even go one further and say that I reckon that’s Evangeline Lilly’s hand. Though, equally, it might be Orlando Bloom.
maegwen: A good portion of time on trailer night was spent examining the object we see in the bottom left of this screen cap. There was a lot of speculation, with two ideas being, 1) a miniature of Drogo, father of Frodo — with some staffers feeling it resembled images seen on the mantlepiece in Bag End — though no one could agree why it possibly would be that. 2) Others, such as Quickbeam, felt it could be an image of Gimli, also remarking that the frame appeared to be of fine, possibly Dwarfish, craftsmanship. For myself, I best like Calisuri’s idea, accompanying the next frame below.
Quickbeam: Gloin seems rather reverent to a Bilbo who just rescued him from spiders, and touchingly procures a picture of his son, Gimli. Imagine dialogue like: “I want to see my son again, thank you Mr. Baggins,” or something close.
Closeup of object seen in previous screen cap
Calisuri: Notice the uni-brow, Princess Leia style hair bun and beginnings of a bun on top of the head. I’m going out on a limb and saying this is Gimli’s mother and Gloin’s wife. This is our first ever glimpse of a female Dwarf! Even the shading around the mouth implies a bit of facial hair. Very interesting!
Demosthenes: Does the silver keepsake belong to Gloin (or one of the dwarves?) or to a certain hobbit not in the picture?
Graham McTavish as Dwalin
Demosthenes: Dwalin. I agree with the general consensus that the location is the goblin town under the Misty Mountains. Really conveys that he’s the muscle of the group.
Elessar: Dwalin fighting someone. Could it be Azog’s orcs he’s battling?
Quickbeam: Another theory: Dwalin might be shown here in flashback at the Lonely Mountain, as the Dwarves get their first sight of the dragon bringing doom upon them.
Ken Stott as Balin
Demosthenes: Balin at Bag End during the Unexpected Party.
maegwen: I read a comment somewhere expressing satisfaction that Balin, of all the dwarves, looks so perfectly “Christmas Dwarf.” I’m not sure what a Christmas Dwarf should look like, but I do agree that he has the stately presence we expect of this character. Also, to bring in a personal note, we must once again comment that TORn’s longtime staffer and dear friend, the late Greg Grieman – known to many as “Balin,” would have loved to see this character and movie brought to life. RIP, good dwarf.
MrCere: My favorite dwarf for various reasons, including that I think it is a beautifully rendered and idealized ‘older’ character. He brings some grace and dignity to the race and, hopefully in the film, has a closer personal relationship with Bilbo than the rest of the company. Balin bows.
Quickbeam: Those buttered scones behind Balin’s right ear won’t make it through the night.
