#TBT: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

It's a little bit like Christmas in July around here. And by that we mean it's Comic-Con time! You never know what surprises will be revealed in those halls down in San Diego. New trailers? Poster art? Cast announcements? Sequels? As we prepare for all the excitement of next week, we're taking a moment to pause and remember one of our favorite debuts from Comic-Con past in today's Throwback Thursday. 

Three years ago at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, the world prepared to bid farewell to director Peter Jackson's vision of Middle-earth as the first teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies debuted. After nearly 13 years of creating a vast world that was as beautiful as it could be terrifying, it was a bittersweet moment for many to realize that this film was the beginning of the end. 

The final film in the Hobbit trilogy—and, of course, as the prequels to the Lord of the Rings films—is brought to an epic conclusion as Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves have reclaimed the vast wealth of their homeland. Now they must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon, Smaug, upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide: unite or be destroyed.

Mega Tolkien fan, Stephen Colbert, introduced the trailer at the still-legendary panel. He went so far in his role as moderator by even dressing the part in full Hobbit costume.

The six films in the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings universe combined "ring" in (see what we did there?) at over a whopping 20 hours total. With that in mind, maybe invite some friends over for a The Hobbit: Battle of the Six Movies marathon. While you're catching up with your old friends Bilbo, Frodo and Gandalf, be sure to take some water and stretch breaks and check back here all next week as we cover Comic-Con International: San Diego 2017. We'll be sharing all the best tweets, Facebook Live events, Instagram posts and of course trailer debuts as they happen.