New trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: watch now

A new trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug has arrived online and it's every bit as thrilling as you'd expect.

Amid the action - giant spider, barrels, sprawling armies - there are great beats for all the main characters, both old and new.

Those beats include Ian McKellen bringing the gravitas as Gandalf and Luke Evans looking on fine form as Bard the Bowman.

Best of all is Benedict Cumberbatch's voice cameo as dragon Smaug. Though the trailer stops short at showing the fearsome fire-breather, the voice alone is enough to send shivers down your spine...

Check out the trailer below...

Picking up where last year’s Unexpected Journey left off, Smaug sees Bilbo (Martin Freeman) travelling to the Kingdom of Erebor, where the company of 13 dwarves intend to slay the titular dragon and reclaim their mountain.

Meanwhile, romance buds between returning elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and newcomer Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly).

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug also stars Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.