First image from The Hobbit: There And Back Again

The first image has arrived from The Hobbit: There And Back Again , the final installment in the three-part adaptation, featuring Orlando Bloom’s return as the archer, Legolas.

Legolas can be seen standing with Luke Evans’ character, Bard the Bowman, a character concerning whom producer Philippa Boyens has been dropping a little knowledge.

“Bard is an interesting character, but [ in the book ] he’s kind of a random character who comes in after the fact,” says Boyens. “We take more time introducing him. We know from what follows that he was a father, so we [ explore ] that. I don’t think we take liberties, because it’s all there in the storytelling.”

And as for old pointy-ears, Peter Jackson has been explaining why it made sense to bring him back for the Hobbit franchise.

“He’s [ elven king ] Thranduil’s son, and Thranduil is one of the characters in The Hobbit ,” reasons Jackson. “And because elves are immortal, it makes sense Legolas would be part of the sequence in the Woodland Realm.”

The Hobbit: There And Back again opens in the UK on 18 July 2014. First up however is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , which opens in the UK on 13 December 2012.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.