darth_ender said:

So I'm getting behind a trilogy better now, just because I do like the idea of more background information being made accessible. As long as Jackson shows fidelity to Tolkein's intents for the most part, I think I can support the full trilogy.

This article struck me as interesting:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1694086/the-hobbit-trailer.jhtml

It includes the new trailer (finally!), which I can't watch right now but I'm excited to see.

Most interesting to me was the background information on Radagast the Brown. So much of Gandalf's wizard order is merely inferred and not revealed in the books. Seeing another wizard would be, frankly, pretty stinkin' cool. And while never explicitly stated, it seems that the Necromancer in the Hobbit was likely supposed to be Sauron in the end, or considering the Hobbit preceded TLOTR by so many years, he served merely as an inspiration for the later expanded Sauron idea. It seems that the Hobbit films will definitively tie the two together.

Also fun, if you'd like to play some riddles in the dark, go here:

http://apps.warnerbros.com/thehobbit/riddles/us/

You can guess and submit your own.

I'm pretty sure that the Necromancer is Sauron in LOTRO (the MMO), though I skimmed that part.