As the prequel to the Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the upcoming Peter Jackson directed film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" will have some mighty large shoes to fill.  The long awaited fantasy adventure movie is based on the popular children's novels by author J.R.R. Tolkien.

According to Perez Hilton in July, Jackson spoke about the incredible amount of book material he has been working with for the movie adaptation:

"There's so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven't been able to squeeze into these movies."

The filmmaker recently revealed that “An Unexpected Journey” will be the first of three movies shot in the trilogy.

Jackson had also stated through his Facebook account in April 2011 that the highly-anticipated flicks will be visually enhanced.

“We are indeed shooting at the higher frame rate … It looks much more life like and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D.”

The first installment of "The Hobbit" will feature Bilbo Baggins journeying his way to the Lonely Mountain with a group of Dwarves in order to retrieve a stolen treasure from dragon Smaug.

Several of the actors such as Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood and Cate Blanchett will be back on board to reprise their roles from “Lord of The Rings.”

Two parts of “The Hobbit” were shot back-to-back: "An Unexpected Journey" and its next installment, "Desolation of Smaug."   The upcoming version is set for a Dec. 14 release and the next on Dec. 14, 2013. “There and Back Again” will be the last of the three part trilogy to complete the series on July 14, 2014.

Although most fans already know how “The Hobbit” flicks will end, the question on everyone’s mind is just what will be added or removed in its final cut version?  However, the only way for one to find out is to see it on the big screen.

Tags: The Hobbit Movies