There are just 3 months remaining until the final chapter of The Hobbit saga and the final bit of Middle-earth on film is released, and new images and story tidbits are going to start coming much quicker now. Earlier today we shared the new scrolling poster for this final chapter and now we have some analysis of what can be seen in it from our staff. Of all the new imagery available, there is still nothing of Dain and the wild War Boar he purportedly rides in on, but this scroll does have a few other new tidbits of info in it that are fun to speculate on.
But first, a little editorial note about these scrolls that most of you have probably already noticed, there is a LOT of photoshop involved in putting these together. They cobble together a vast array of characters and settings in order to tell a miniature 2D story with just a few images, and sometimes the photoshop works well, and sometimes not so much. When it does not work out so well, we’ve taken to calling it FrankenPhotoshop, which can be attributed to any image that makes you scratch your head and wonder ‘wait, who is that?’.
So read on to see the TORn staff reactions to the images selected to be in this Scroll, and then feel free to post your own thoughts below.
Garfeimao – Bard has clearly gotten out of jail (#FreeBard) and retrieved the Black Arrow, which he is carrying. I do not believe all those flames are actually engulfing Bard, but I’m sure he is on his way to the tower with the Wind Lance. You will notice that the official Poster released at SDCC this year has a similar pose of Bard with his Bow in his hand, standing on a bridge in front of Smaug’s onslaught.
Galadriel on the ground, reaching out to Gandalf is a powerful image, she looks distressed but not injured. But I have to wonder if she was knocked down in battle, or if she is trying to reach Gandalf in stealth and not be seen. This image truly mystifies me, not the least of which is that does not appear to be wearing any armor. Oh well, one less costume for the Cosplayers to make, at least, one based on an actual movie costume, they are free to imagine what it might look like.
Bilbo has suddenly become a Lefty, it appears. That, or they reversed the image of him in both instances, or he’s injured his right hand. What do you all think? Also, the second image of Bilbo on the far right is definitely a FrankenPhotoshop, that just doesn’t look quite like Martin Freeman.
Tauriel is not looking too much like Evangeline Lilly in this either, another example of FrankenPhotoshop. The fact that it looks like she went splat doesn’t help, just not an elf like pose.
Thorin, Fili and Kili are all wearing new armor and carrying new swords. I hope we get some full on character images for all of the dwarves kitted out in their new battle gear.
GreenDragon – I said at DragonCon, ‘There had better be bats!’ And there are. Lots of ’em. So I’m happy with that. 🙂
Saystine – I can’t wait to see Smaug torch the city. it looks awesome here and in the trailer. it is going to be an exciting sequence to be sure!
Sarumann – Saddened that an image of Bag End or the Shire is not the last image here, implying the inherent ‘There and Back Again’ aspect of the film. Hope that does not mean the story will end before Bilbo interrupts his own Estate Sale.
Deej – Love seeing the dwarven armour, Bilbo with all of the bats in the background, Smaug, and Thranduil on his War Moose.
More analysis to come from these images as more staff chime in.
Mithril – Other than the fact that Tauriel looks like someone else, and she and Galadriel, the most powerful Elf in Middle-earth, are on their knees, it’s pretty cool. Smaug is awesome as always. I like how the throne has a big bite or claw swipe cut out of it. Thorin does look really destroyed sitting there. Is he wounded physically or just emotionally? Looks like we will get to see Elrond, Saruman and Galadriel at Dol Guldur. My guess is that Dain’s army is going to get the biggest cheer of the night. The bats are cool. I’d like to see the Great Eagles swoop in and gulp them down like snacks.
Arwen – Galadriel may be the most powerful elf in ME, but doing battle with the Necromancer/Sauron is no walk in the park even for her. After all eventually he’s not defeated by elves but by a little hobbit and a creature who once was a hobbit too. So personally Gandalf/Galadriel is my favorite part of the scroll. It suggests that dark times are coming and that heroes will fall. Not necessarily these heroes -as we know- but still 🙂