Peter Jackson changes third Hobbit film title

Director Peter Jackson has changed the title of the final film in his Hobbit trilogy from There and Back Again to The Battle of the Five Armies.

The original title felt “misplaced”, he wrote on Facebook.

He said the journey to make the trilogy had been “in some ways like Bilbo’s own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we’ve gone along”.

The movie is due out this December. The first two instalments took about $1bn (£600m) each at global box offices.

Jackson continued: “There and Back Again felt like the right name for the second of a two-film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film.

“But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced - after all, Bilbo has already arrived ‘there’ in the Desolation of Smaug.

“When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at.

“We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate. And so: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies it is.”

Jackson hinted the title There and Back Again could be the name of a future trilogy box set.

The Battle of the Five Armies is in reference to a battled waged between the goblins and the wargs against the elves, dwarves, eagles, men of Dale and a shape-shifter as depicted in JRR Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel.

Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins in the trilogy, which also stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ian McKellen, Billy Connolly and Richard Armitage. - BBC