MTV
Kara Warner
December 20, 2011

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' teaser features Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and other 'Lord of the Rings' characters.

What a week of 2012 movie trailers and teasers! We've had looks at "The Dark Knight Rises," "Wrath of the Titans," and now, the first official trailer for Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," part one of his two-film treatment of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book.

The trailer opens with an elderly Bilbo (Ian Holm) explaining to Frodo (Elijah Wood) that he might not have shared all there was to know about his adventures, followed by a quick cut to young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) being recruited to come on a new journey with Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen). It then introduces a slew of Dwarves and Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), who begin an eerie foreshadowing chant that provides backing for quick clips of this new fellowship on their journey. After that, it shows brief glimpses of Cate Blanchett reprising her role as ethereal Galadriel and a shadowy appearance of Andy Serkis as Gollum muttering about his "precious."

While "The Hobbit" is a return to Tolkien's famous Middle-earth for Jackson, whose critically acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" trilogy won millions of fans around the world and 17 Oscars, this film has a slightly different tone and look to it.

"The Hobbit" takes place 60 years before the events that unfold in "The Fellowship of the Ring" and follows Bilbo Baggins' journey to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the treacherous dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bilbo and the brave warrior Thorin Oakenshield have run-ins with Goblins, Orcs, Wargs and giant spiders — and a chance meeting with Gollum that will change the course of Bilbo's life forever and leads to the discovery of the "one ring to rule them all."

Much to the delight of the "Lord of the Rings" dedicated fanbase, many of the actors from Jackson's first three films are reprising their roles: Andy Serkis is back as Gollum, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Christopher Lee as Saruman.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is set to arrive in theaters December 14, 2012.