Photo: WENN.com

The first teaser for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released.

Director Peter Jackson returns to JRR Tolkien's fantasy world to bring the two-part prequel to his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Jackson, who has released a series of video diaries during the shoot, has said: "Shooting The Hobbit in 3D is a dream come true. If I had the ability to shoot The Lord of the Rings in 3D I certainly would have done it.

"On The Lord of the Rings, I had a 3D camera taking 3D photographs. Hopefully one day, maybe even on 3D Blu-ray, we might be able to show you the 3D photos from 10 or 12 years ago."

Martin Freeman takes over as Bilbo Baggins, with Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis all making returns.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is released on December 14, 2012.

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