THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES I know the trailer has been and gone a couple of weeks now, but here are a few geeky items of trivia that we noted at the time that have been rattling round inside our heads ever since that we wanted to share.

Maybe you’ve noted these things too; maybe not! Were there other geeky oddities that you noted at the time?

A possible PJ cameo?

10378142_10152602880484821_5125474785943354364_n Is there a PJ cameo? Of course there must be: it’s as inevitable as death and taxes! In DOS it was the return of the carrot chewer in Bree. In AUJ he was a dwarf at the sack of Erebor.

But what will it be in the Battle of the Five Armies? Staffer Justin thinks it may be the one of the Nine Ringwraiths that we see in the big Dol Guldur confrontation who surround Galadriel and Gandalf. Specifically the one at far right with headgear similar to a jester’s — very similar to the disguise Jackson wore at Comic-Con in July.

10698559_10152602895179821_7627913485672273859_n

The Palantir at Dol Guldur!

BotFATrailer30 In the scene with the Nine surrounding Galadriel and Gandalf, you can see the statue (above them) holding what we suspect to be a Palantir.

We saw the same item in last year’s Desolation of Smaug banner until that poster was edited to remove the Palantir from the statue’s hand. Very strange!

 

 

All the rings of power are represented in the trailer… except the Seven!

vlcsnap-2014-11-07-05h55m07s98 I can’t decide if this is deliberate or just an accident.

We see Bilbo with the One Ring at the end of the trailer — and it’s true master, Sauron. All the Nine are present at Dol Guldur. We also see the keepers of the Three: Elrond (Vilya), Galadriel (Nenya), and Gandalf (Narya).

But the Seven are not represented at all in any way. Thrain would be the only opportunity to legitimately do so, and of course his storyline ends up being dealt with in the Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition.

Where’s Bofur?!

BotFATrailer10 In the last two films Bofur kept asking where Bilbo was. In the Battle of the Five Armies trailers, Bofur is noticeably effaced — hidden behind various objects or people.

We’ve flipped, going from “Where’s Bilbo?” to “Where’s Bofur?”. Is there a reason behind this, or is it simply coincidence?

 

 

Who is the featured orc?

gothmogbotfa There is a very unlovely-looking “featured” orc in the trailer. Why so prominent? Staffer Justin speculates that it might be a young Gothmog (of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields fame, not the Balrog of Morgoth) who is badly wounded and then escapes.

By Return of the King he has become the grey-haired world-weary General who has seen battle and basically wins the war except for the damn pesky green ghosts.

Match up these four features in the pictures we’ve assembled above-left and see what you think:

  • The nose has that angled nostril on the right (his left)
  • Cheek and lip lines match up
  • Eyes are a spot on match
  • Side cleft in the chin

If true, it would a really neat connecting thread to the Rings trilogy. In the meantime, treat as fun speculation!

PLUS The trailer music: Dust and Light

cover170x170 The trailer music is actually a piece called Dust and Light from Twelve Titans Music.

You can now pick up the track on iTunes — just head here: Dust and Light – Single – Twelve Titans Music.