Before Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies were split into three parts, the second film was going to be called The Hobbit: There And Back Again - a name borrowed from the actual subtitle of J.R.R. Tolkien's original novel. Then, when the split was made in 2012, the name of the second movie was changed to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and the new third movie in the trilogy then became The Hobbit: There And Back Again. Now it seems as though the title really can't catch a break, because rumors are swirling that the final installment of the new Middle-earth trilogy is undergoing yet another change.
TheOneRing.net has learned a rumor from one of their reliable sources claiming that The Hobbit: There And Back Again is going to be retitled The Hobbit: Into the Fire. There's no real explanation as to why Warner Bros. might be considering changing the title, but apparently they have registered the new title as a possible new name. The site notes that Into The Fire may just be a back-up plan, similar to how the studio also registered the name The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies back in 2012. At the same time, it's a bit hard to comprehend why they would need to establish a back-up title this late in the game, with only eight months left until the movie's release.
While Into The Fire may seem like a totally generic subtitle - similar to The Raid: Redemption or Resident Evil: Retribution - The One Ring notes that the name could be borrowed from the sixth chapter of Tolkien's book, which is called "Out of the Frying Pan, Into The Fire" and tells the part of the story when Bilbo and the Dwarves has just escaped from the Goblin caves and start getting hunted by a pack of Wargs. This, of course, already happened in the movies, but the phrase could also be used to describe how Bilbo and company defeated the titular dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug only to have him fly off to Lake Town to burn the place to the ground once and for all (it's certainly a more literal interpretation).
If The Hobbit: There And Back Again is retitled The Hobbit: Into The Fire, how would you feel about it? Do you like the original title, or do you think the new one fits better? Answer our poll below and then tell us what you're thinking in the comments section!
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