The trailer for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released, and Lord of the Rings fans will be delighted to see Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly and Martin Freeman back on the big screen.

The flick is the first of three planned prequels in the LOTR series, and it follows Bilbo Baggins as he journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug.

The movie hits theaters on December 14, 2012 ... just in time for the holidays!