10 New Images From The Hobbit Released [PHOTOS]

At the end of this year, Peter Jackson is finally taking us back to the world he brought to the big screen with The Hobbit, prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We've had a more or less steady stream of footage and vlogs from Jackson thus far, but now EW.com have a whole bunch of new photos straight from Hobbiton, which you can check out below. The Hobbit, which has been split into two instalments, stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, and he'll be joined by *deep breath* returning stars Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee and Ian Holm; as well as new additions Billy Connolly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, John Bell, James Nesbitt and many, many more. It'll see the titular Hobbit caught up in a quest to free the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor from the clutches of the evil dragon Smaug, where along the way he stumbles across a seemingly harmless ring. The first part, An Unexpected Journey, will slash its way onto our screens on 14th December, while part two, There and Back Again, will be with us on 13th December 2013.