Peter Jackson On The Extended Edition Of ‘The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies’

It is a tried-and-true tradition for fans of Middle Earth-based flicks to anticipate the arrival of the extended edition of each installment. Starting with The Fellowship Of The Ring, each extended edition tended to have at least 30 or so minutes of extra footage, usually delving deeper into the Middle Earth mythology, as well as bringing nuggets to the screen that may have only existed in the appendices of the books.

The Hobbit is no exception to this rule. With each Hobbit film already being jam-packed with appendix material not intended for the narrative, the extended cuts tend to really dig deep for the obscure pieces, as well as further connecting the work to the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy. So what of the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies? While at a press day for the new film, Peter Jackson opened up about what to expect, via Screen Rant.

“The extended cut, which will be about 30 minutes longer,” Jackson said. “[And] will have some additional Beorn stuff.” For those who don’t remember, Beorn was the shapeshifting, bear-man-like creature who helped shelter Bilbo and company in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug.

It has already been noted that the theatrical cut of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is the shortest film of the entire Middle Earth saga, clocking in at two hours and 24 minutes. This means the extended cut will run at just under three hours. While still the shortest film of the whole saga, it’s by no means a trim movie.

While the release of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is a huge achievement, and marks the end of the Middle Earth saga, The Hobbit films — especially when compared to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy — have received a great deal of criticism along the way. On top of inflating a single children’s book into three two-and-a-half-hour films, it was also criticized for its excessive use of CGI and Jackson’s decision to release the films at 48 frames per second. Despite the complaints, however, Jackson stands by his decision to release the film in the non-standard format.

“I just think it’s a much better way to see films. After the first Hobbit film, I found out a lot of tricks to make it look less like video. I understood the criticisms. So the second and third movies have a slightly more textured look. I regret more people didn’t see them like that. 100 years ago movies were black-and-white, silent, and 16 frames a second. So 100 years from now, what are they going to be now? But you can absolutely guarantee that they’re not going to be 24 frames a second and they’re not going to be 2D. And ultimately the audiences for movies are beginning to dwindle that it’s becoming a very serious issue for the industry. The industry has to have the audience in order to make these films. So it’s a serious thing – how do you get people to leave their houses and go to the theater? I think it’s important that filmmakers look at the technology and figure out how to make the theatrical experience a little more exciting.”

While Jackson may be planning The Hobbit films for longevity, the problem remains that the playback of 48 fps would require an overhaul of modern home entertainment systems. As such, no one will be able to experience this outside of theaters for some time — if the industry decides to change their standards in the first place. Considering the general mainstream’s attachment to the aesthetic of 24 fps, it is not a change that would happen overnight or anytime soon.

Will you be first in line for the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies?