WATCH the first trailer for 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' here

MANILA, Philippines - The first trailer for Peter Jackson's “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” has been released and can be watched below:

The anticipated film stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lilly, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Michael Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Ken Stott and Aidan Turner.

The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece "The Hobbit," by J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” will be released in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures on Dec. 12, 2013, to be followed by “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” on July 18, 2014.