The Hobbit: 11 Amazing Things You Missed In The Desolation Of Smaug
5. The Original Ending
Theres an alternate reality where weve just finished Guillermo Del Toros Hobbit duology. Along with the Beatles Lord Of The Rings (yes, that was almost a thing), its a fascinating failed Middle Earth film, made all the more intriguing because the finished product were now experiencing is questionably close to what might have been. Youd hope Del Toro would have taken a more practical approach (even Pacific Rim had a few puppets thrown in), but the real wish is films with more self justification. And, as revealed by Jackson in a recent interview, the proposed ending of An Unexpected Journey (Part 1 of 2) would have done just that. The credits would have originally rolled just after the barrel sequence, with Bards silhouette, instead of Smaugs eye, leading to a year of speculation. It makes a lot of sense really. All of the meandering adventure vignettes are within the confines of one, fun story, while the dragon and epic Lord Of The Rings scale is bridged in the other. Not to mention theres a sort of cliffhanger that helps build Bard as a big presence, but also feels like a full stop in the story, rather than Desolations sudden open end.
