Middle-earth: Let's Go Back There, Shall We?

As promised, I have some exciting news to share concerning our very favorite upcoming Tolkien movies.  But first, an appropriate and relevant introduction.

A couple of months ago The Wife and I were quite excited to learn that certain theaters would be showing the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen, one each week for three weeks, ostensibly to promote their release on Blu-ray, but also perhaps to generate even more interest in Jackon's upcoming Middle-earth work (it couldn't hurt anyway, right?)...  At first we thought they wouldn't be showing them here, which was such a bummer, but THEN we realized they would be showing them right here in our favorite Provo Towne Centre Cinemark!

So, for the last three weeks, and ending last night, The Wife and I have been quite glad to experience all three of them again, "the way they were meant to be seen," as Peter Jackson said in each of his brief introductions.  They are all still (and always) so amazing, and it was fun to see them all big and big-like again.  Can you believe the first one came out ten years ago this fall??

So then, this leads me to my exciting follow-through.  A lot of people have already seen these, but recently a few photos have been released giving us out first look at The Hobbit!  :D  And here they are (courtesy of this article):

Could this not possibly look any more like Bilbo ought to look??

It's Gandalf!  Just as he always looked!

Just a couple of Hobbits out on the town.

Um, do this not look absolutely perfect??  I admit that I had my doubts as to whether or not this movie would ever even be made, I mean the rumors were circulating for years, and Peter Jackson had a lot of issues with the script and the studio and even getting the directing gig again, but now here it is!  I'm finally just about ready to give up my final shreds of doubt and start believing that this epic movie(s) event is actually happening!  I don't even mind that they're splitting it into two movies (the titles and release dates of which have also recently been announced) and adding characters that weren't in the book, but who appeared in the subsequent trilogy.  It will be epic and historical, and it will be interesting because this book sort of has a different tone than The Lord of the Rings, but it looks like it's all going to be very consistent, which is so great.

Christmas 2012 can't come soon enough.