New trailer released for next Hobbit film The Desolation of Smaug; Ian McKellen promises 'lots of action'

THE action-filled trailer for the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug has been released.

A red-headed Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Orlando Bloom as Legolas in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Source: Facebook

THE action-filled trailer for the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug has been released.

Filmed in New Zealand, the second of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy will be released in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day.

The trailer picks up on the journey of adventurous hobbit Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, and also brings back fan favourites Orlando Bloom as elf Legolas, as well as the return of Ian McKellen's iconic wizard Gandalf.

"We have been blind, and in our blindness, our enemy has returned", a worried Gandalf intones over shots of marching orc armies.

Tolkien fans also get the first glimpse of Lost star Evangeline Lilly, with red hair and showing off her archery skills as Tauriel, head of the elven guard. 

"It will not end here. With every victory this evil will grow," Tuariel warns Legolas in the trailer.

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch voices the dragon Smaug, who is disturbed in his greedy lair by a terrified Bilbo.

McKellen and Bloom appeared on the US Today show, where McKellen promised fans "lots of action" in the new film.

Bloom admitted he had little idea what the final scenes would actually look like, after spending most of his time on set "hanging upside-down with wires on a green screen." After spending “hours flailing around, stabbing at things in the air,", he said he was thrilled with the final film: "It looks better than I thought!”

The film comes after 2012’s hit The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The final installment There and Back Again, will be released in 2014.