Details on what to expect in the extended cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

June 25th 2013, 12:54pm

For those that have been holding onto their cash to purchase the inevitable extended cut of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, details have now surfaced on just what extra bang you'll be getting for your buck. Empire spoke with the filmmakers in their latest issue, where they spilled the beans on what additional and/or added scenes will be featured in the extended cut, including more Hobbiton,more goblins, and more Thranduil, amongst other interesting bits. Here's the rundown:

"You are going to get some serious Dwarvish disrespect of the elves at Rivendell," says Jackson.

"You are going to get more of Hobbiton," says producer / co-writer Philippa Boyens. "We always wanted to wend our way through Hobbiton, but in the end Bilbo has to run out of the door."

"You are going to get more Goblin Town, and the Great Goblin singing his song," adds Fran Walsh, Jackson's other half and fellow screenwriter. "It is a great song, but it was just another delay in terms of moving the story along."

"A number one hit from the Goblin King," laughs Jackson. "Barry Humphries is going to rise up the charts."

"We are putting things in the extended cut that are going to play straight into the second film," explains Jackson, "like this character Girion, who is defending [the city of] Dale using black arrows against Smaug. And the black arrows play a part in an ongoing story, for they are the one thing that can pierce the dragon's hide."

"There are also issues with [king of the elves] Thranduil (Lee Pace)," Jackson adds. "We get some of the reason why he and the dwarves had a falling out – to do with these white gems…"

It all sounds good to me, but it does get old buying a new release of these films every few years (I've gone through regular DVD editions of LORD OF THE RINGS, then extended DVD's, and now the blu-ray extended editions. Enjoy the new swimming pool Peter Jackson). I enjoyed THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY much more than I thought I would, so I'm down for an extended cut. What about you? Worth the bones?

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY extended edition is expected to be released about a month prior to the theatrical release of THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG on December 13, 2013.