Trailer for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Looks Impressive

Coming on the heels of announcements that Peter Jackson and co. are splitting the two films into three, we get our first look at this first part of The Hobbit series with this latest trailer.

One thing that's becoming clear is how well these films will integrate with their Lord of the Rings counterparts. It's clear that while Guillermo Del Toro's involvement may have made for a unique vision for the works, having this kind of thematic and visual consistency will surely be a boon for anyone crazy enough to do a marathon of all six works.

We see some of the usual suspects - Galadriel, Golumn and other ghouls - and if parsed out carefully, you can pretty much tell where in the (short) book PJ is splitting things apart. Plus, Bilbo fighting with sting kind of makes him look like a Jedi, so bonus marks for that.

For now, it's an exciting tease for what promises to be quite an exciting journey back to the lands of Middle Earth.

Update: There's a second video included with additional footage meant as a comic capper at the end of the trailer. Rather than playing some interactive game, you can simply watch them back-to-back. These additional clips certainly highlight some of the more lighthearted, almost silly moments that are indicative of the style of the original tale.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Opens in theatres in December, 2012.