The Hobbit Movie Release Date: Orlando Bloom as Legolas to Appear in Second and Third Installments

After a potential boycott by PETA for alleged animal mistreatment and a lawsuit from J.R.R.Tolkien’s estate, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of the upcoming trilogy based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien — and prequel to the wildly popular trilogy The Lord of the Rings (which premieres on December 14, 2012) — continues to generate news.

This time the movie, which high-speed 3D technology is reportedly "making people sick," has unveiled a first look at Orlando Bloom as Legolas — according to EW. 

The character, which doesn't appear in the books but has been added to the film version, will appear in the second and third installments of the trilogy — The Desolation of Smaug, which premieres on December 13, 2013; and There and Back Again, out on July 18, 2014. 

According to EW, "[when the movies] arrive in theaters, we’ll encounter some familiar faces as well as some new ones as Bilbo and the dwarves continue their perilous journey to the Lonely Mountain, home of the dragon Smaug. One familiar face will be Orlando Bloom’s elf Legolas [...], a major character in the Rings trilogy but one not mentioned in the Hobbit book.

See the picture, courtlesy of EW:

Read more on Entertainment Weekly.