The first trailer* for the highly anticipated final instalment* of director Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” series hit the Internet early yesterday.

    The two-minute trailer for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” identifies this last go-round as the “defining chapter” of the fantasy saga.

    Showing the armies of Middle Earth preparing for war, the trailer peppers in glimpses of sword-swinging action with lamentations* about both the battles that have passed and those yet to come by Bilbo Baggins, the lead character played by actor Richard Armitage.

    The two previous “Hobbit” movies grossed almost US$2 billion combined.

    The second movie in the series, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” earned just under US$1 billion globally and enjoyed a US$33 million opening in China.

    “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” will hit theaters on December 17.(SD-Agencies)