Beorn with Gandalf Denny’s has just launched an exclusive look at Beorn’s set, featuring what I believe is some of the first words we’ve heard from Mikael Persbrandt about his role as the shapeshifting bear-man. If you’re avoiding visual movie spoilers, best look away now!

Persbrandt’s is pretty laconic; more hints about what happens come from his (unwelcome?) houseguests.

Jed Brophy (Nori) describes him as a big man, a giant (apparently Beorn is eight-foot-tall (truly!)), and Peter Hambleton (Gloin) says that Beorn’s relationship with animals and natures gives the set a classic fairytale feel. And Stephen Hunter adds that they subsist on cheese and bread and nuts (No honeycakes and fresh cream? Boooo!).

Persbrandt on the set itself:

It really was an amazing set. One of the most magnificent sets I’ve seen and worked in.

Our high-resolution spy set photo!

About halfway through, there’s a fairly tight, side-shot of the exterior of the Beorn set. If you’re wondering what it looks like from other angles, we have been able to obtain from NZ photographer Tim Clayton a license to reproduce a high-resolution copy of one of the photos he took at the Paradise set from outside the exclusion zone while filming was taking place back in 2011. You’ll see it shows pretty much the entire set in quite glorious detail.

Just click the image for the full, 3000-pixel-wide version.

Filming takes place on the set of Executive producer, writer and director Sir Peter Jackson sequel 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' in a remote valley in Paradise,  Glenorchy, 66km from Queenstown. South Island, New Zealand. Copyright: Tim Clayton.
Filming takes place on the set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' in a remote valley in Paradise, Glenorchy, 66km from Queenstown. South Island, New Zealand. Copyright: Tim Clayton.