#2 is now renamed / subtitled The Desolation of Smaug, which seems an appropriate middle title. The title There and Back Again moves to the third movie, which is also quite appropriate.
I think it had been heard (or at least hinted) that the third movie would be released in the summer — which is a shame, because I lurves me some Peter Jackson Christmas Movie Merriment — but I understand the whys and wherefores.
(I would not call this "a big-time shakeup", but …)
Reshared post from +Comicbook.com
A big-time shakeup in Middle Earth.
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The Hobbit: Movie #2 Gets Retitled, #3 Gets Release Date
Yesterday, Warner Brothers and Legendary Entertainment, the producers behind the forthcoming trilogy of films adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, had a bi…
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You would call it a "big-time shakeup" if you wanted people to read your article. Nobody clicks on, "Minor Tweaks To Movie Schedule", or "Middle Earth Movie Doing What They Said It Would Do Last Year".
I think the news stands on its own — as in the headline. The subtitle in the G+ post is what was dodgy.