Third ‘Hobbit’ movie gets a new title

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Peter Jackson is tweaking the ending of Bilbo Baggins’ journey.

The Oscar-winning director says the original title of The Hobbit finale, There and Back Again, felt misplaced since Baggins arrived at his destination in the second film. He says that title better suited a film that wrapped up a two-part story instead of a trilogy.

So the final film based on the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy adventure has being renamed The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Jackson wrote about the decision on Facebook, saying that making the films was sometimes like the hobbit’s journey itself, “with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we’ve gone along.”

He thought about revising the title when the second film opened last year, but said he and the studio, Warner Bros., kept an open mind until a cut of the film was ready. They watched it last week before agreeing on the new title.

The film stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the dragon.

An Unexpected Journey topped $1 billion at the worldwide box office and The Desolation of Smaug made more than $950 million.

Expected to be a success like its predecessors, The Battle of the Five Armies premieres in December.

– additional reporting by Global News