Third “Hobbit” Movie Gets a New Title

What's in a name? Or, more specifically, a title? Well, for Peter Jackson, a lot.

The director took to Facebook on Thursday to announce that he has decided to change the title of the final installment of his Hobbit trilogy from "There and Back Again" to "The Battle of the Five Armies."

"Our journey to make 'The Hobbit Trilogy' has been in some ways like Bilbo's own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we've gone along," Jackson wrote. "'There and Back Again' felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo's arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived 'there' in the 'Desolation of Smaug.'"

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The Oscar-winning director added, "When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate. And so: 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' it is."

But Jackson noted that it's quite possible the title "There and Back Again" could be used "on a future box-set of all three movies."

Meanwhile, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 17, 2014.

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