The two new posters released for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies certainly don’t make the final installment of Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy, which debuts nationwide on December 17th, look like a walk in the park.  Under a slogan that reads "The Defining Chapter," Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) holds his sword straight out while surrounded on all sides by background images of war, mayhem, and disaster.
 


In contrast the poster of Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is a tight close-up with no background, yet the agonized look on the wizard’s face provides plenty of evidence of the difficulties that will face the intrepid band of adventurers at the conclusion of their epic quest.
 
These new posters echo the bleak tone of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer and earlier poster (see "'Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' Trailer").