Considering audiences will be getting a full nine minutes in front of IMAX screenings of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," maybe it makes sense that the rest us who aren't going to Peter Jackson's movie on opening weekend will have to be content with this one-minute announcement teaser for now.
So here it is, and we'll be honest, The Playlist wrote this earlier tonight and is in bed right now, and didn't get to see it, so you'll just have to tell us if it's totally awesomeballs or completely sucktacular. As for Benedict Cumberbatch's baddie, the actor is being coy, seeming to suggest he's not all that he seems, even if he stands in front of a ravaged London in the poster. "He is very ruthless,” he told a Tokyo press conference via RadioTimes. "He is not a clearly good or evil character. He is a villain but the actions he takes have intent and reason."
The full trailer will drop on December 17th and the movie will beam into theaters on May 17, 2013.
Update: Well, that all looks very impressive, although we hope the tone isn't as unrelentingly dour as it seems to be here. There's also a Japanese trailer for the film with some extra footage at the end that definitely/maybe/definitely doesn't prove that Cumberbatch is playing Khan/Smaug/Dr. Hugo Strange, and that Kirk/Spock/Tyler Perry almost certainly die/give birth/have a nap at the end of the film. See and speculate for yourself below.