Warner Bros Pictures have released the first trailer for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug. You can watch it for yourselves using our player below, or if you prefer to wait until you can see it on the big screen, the trailer is believed to be attached to showings of WB"s Man Of Steel, opening in theatres on Friday. Opening this December 13th in 3D, 2D and IMAX theatres, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is the second entry in Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy to his epic The Lord Of The Rings. The much anticipated fantasy epic will continue the adventures of Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen brave and diverse Dwarves, lead by the courageous Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to win-back Erebor, the lost Dwarf Kingdom, from the possession of the dastardly dragon Smaug. All major players from the last movie return (Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, etc), with this entry finding Orlando Bloom back in Middle-Earth, reprising Legolas, and appearing to have a key role alongside the new elf warrior character Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lily. Luke Evans (as Bard the Bowman), Stephen Fry (Master Of Lake Town) join the cast of this film, with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing Smaug, who we get a good glimpse at from the culmination of this trailer, though we don't yet hear him... This time last year of course there was huge excitement for Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth with The Hobbit, which seems to have died down greatly twelve months on after the so-so "An Unexpected Journey". Middle entries can often be tough in pre-planned trilogies and The Two Towers to me always felt like the least interesting and somewhat awkward middle chapter in the original trilogy, but let's hope the excitement levels for this one are cranked up from last Christmas' entry. What do you think of the trailer guys? As always, voice your opinion below...