The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is coming to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download much sooner than expected. The first film in Peter Jackson’s newest trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novel, The Hobbit, only hit theaters on December 14, but the home entertainment release will have a fairly quick turnaround, with digital copies available on March 12 and the Blu-ray and DVD release following a week later on March 19.
Earlier today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced that the newest film in the trilogy will be teased in a Livestream event in March provided you purchase a Blu-ray or DVD copy of the flick, which is a huge incentive to purchase a hard copy an not just stream the film. The sneak peak will be available beginning on March 24. There will be plenty of choices and price ranges to choose with hard copies of the film, as well. The 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack will retail at $35.99, the 5-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack will go for $44.95, and the 2-Disc DVD Special Edition will retail for $28.98.
The 3D Blu-ray set will clearly come with the most opportunities to watch the flick. Not only will fans get a 3D copy, they will also get a regular Blu-ray, a DVD copy, and the UltraViolet service the company has been pushing in recent months. However, if you are wondering about the possibility of an extended edition, we have some good news and some bad news. Jackson’s obviously not going to pass up the opportunity to share the extra footage with fans, but the extended release won’t be available until the holiday season.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was created by Jackson, who has a passion for Tolkien’s work, and just like the Lord of the Rings series this passion came out onscreen in theaters, and will be apparent through the carefully crafted bonus features with the home entertainment release, as well. The highlight of these extras will be a set of video journals created by Jackson himself. The full list of bonus features hasn’t been cemented, yet, but you can check out some of the details, below.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extras
- Theatrical Trailers
- Game Trailers
- New Zealand: Home of Middle Earth
- Start of Production
- Location Scouting
- Shooting Block One
- Filming in 3D
- Locations Part 1
- Locations Part 2
- Stone St. Studios Tour
- Wrap of Principal Photography
- Post-production Overview
- Wellington World Premiere
