I think something may be wrong with me. While I loved The Lord of the Rings movies as much as anyone, whenever I read news about The Hobbit I find that I'm not excited as I think I should be. While there is great potential for the story to be epic, I can't help but feel like there's an emptiness to the whole exercise. But just as I get ready to head out the door to see a doctor, I remember how I felt while watching the first Hobbit video blog back in April, and then how I felt last week when the first official stills arrived. The reality is that I just need something to refresh my memory, and the butterflies return to my stomach, and this new image succeeds in that department as well.

Empire has revealed the cover of their new issue, and while there's a lot of negative space, the images they use are epic enough to make up for it. Showcasing Gandalf smoking his pipe and another look at Martin Freeman dressed up as Bilbo Baggins, it's a pair of stills that transports the viewer back 10 years to when the public had no idea what they were in for. Based on the first novel by J.R.R Tolkein, the story is set to be split into two films, both directed by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will arrive in theaters on December 14, 2012, while it's follow-up, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will arrive almost exactly one year later on December 13, 2013.

Check out the cover below or full size over on Empire.