Warner Bros. today announced what has been suspected and rumored: the studio is bringing “The Hobbit,” to the San Diego Comic-Con in a big way. Most surprising is just how big as director Peter Jackson, producer and co-screenwriter Phillipa Boyens, actor and director Andy Serkis along with featured actors Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage are all expected at the Saturday, July 14 Comic-Con panel hosted by Warner Bros.
The SDCC comes at a good time for “The Hobbit,” production, which holds a wrap party on July 7 after shooting both films in three distinct blocks. Principal photography will be over for the main actors and crew, seemingly just in time for the participants above to recover for a day or two and then to be whisked away to San Diego — almost as if it was planned from the beginning. Pickup shots are expected to follow soon after the Comic-Con wrap and it seems likely the group will leave the convention and return to Wellington, New Zealand. Jackson certainly has a movie to finish in time for its Nov. 28 world premiere in his home town.
For fans heading to SDCC, some information on the venue:
Hall H, the San Diego Convention Center’s largest auditorium, holds 6,500 and has been a tough place to get a seat the last few years. “Twilight,” fans started camping out for the panels for those films (free with convention pass) and now the hall is subject to long lines and plenty of waiting. That is likely to be the case Saturday, July 14 as Warners and other big Hollywood studios trot out their hottest properties to give them buzz, spread from the fervent fans attending the event.