The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Blu-Ray Announced

UPDATE: As a special addition, we’ve also included the first glimpse of a deleted scene from the upcoming release, which you can now view below!

It’s the announcement we’ve all been waiting for. We’ve known for some time that Peter Jackson and his crew were planning to release an extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, something they’re planning to do with all three films in the trilogy, but now we finally have a little more detail as to what to expect when the Blu-ray hits shelves later this year.

Jackson himself had this to say about the upcoming release:

“I’m thrilled that the Extended Edition will give fans the opportunity to experience certain key scenes in the film as they were originally shot, as well as an abundance of special features. It’s exciting to present this expanded and enriched version of An Unexpected Journey to allow fans to fully immerse themselves in the movie, before seeing the second part of the trilogy.”

As for what to expect for this release, it will supposedly contain 12 minutes of new footage. Granted, it’s not a whole lot (even the shortest of the Lord of the Rings films gained about 30 minutes), but at least it’s something. What makes me even more excited for the release is the discovery that it will contain nearly NINE hours of bonus features, which have come to be known as “The Appendices:”

“The Appendices – A multi-part chronological history of the filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, the boot camp training for the main cast, the work done on set chronologically through the three shooting blocks and in the world of its digital effects.”

If these special features are anything like those on the Lord of the Rings extended editions, then I’m sure we’ll be in for another amazing trip behind the scenes. Personally, I can’t wait to add this to my collection. In the meantime, you can check out the box art below and start counting down the days until we can finally own the definitive edition of this great film.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition arrives on Blu-ray on November 5th and will be available for download from October 22nd.

(Source: Comic Book Movie)