New Hobbit trailer is anything but desolate

The first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hit the Internet today, and I must say, it looks like an epic ride.

The film, due out on December 13, is the sequel to last year's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In the sequel, the second part of a planned trilogy, the adventuring party made up of dwarves, a wizard, and one bumbling hobbit has escaped the Misty Mountains and its horde of sunlight-deprived goblins.

As the adventurers continue on their quest to reclaim treasure from the avaricious dragon known as Smaug, they will meet up with Beorn the shapeshifter and the elves Legolas and Tauriel, as well as journey through the perilous Mirkwood forest and go over a waterfall in wine barrels.

All in all, this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic work and Lord of the Rings precursor looks to provide a special-effects-filled ride that more than fulfills the promise of its predecessor.

After all, you can't really go wrong with a dragon voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.