The Hobbit Wraps Shooting: Next Stop Comic Con!

Good news, Middle-earth fans! Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit has wrapped principal photography and is heading to the editing room.

Director Peter Jackson took to Facebook to announce that back-to-back filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again is complete, with a picture of himself holding a film clapboard. “We made it!” the New Zealand native wrote. “Shoot day 266 and the end of principal photography on ‘The Hobbit.’ Thanks to our fantastic cast and crew for getting us this far, and to all of you for your support! Next stop, the cutting room. Oh, and Comic Con!”

The nine month shoot will give us the tale leading into J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy trilogy Lord of the Rings in a two-part film, the first of which is set for release in December, notes E!Online. The follow-up will hit theaters in 2013.

Comic Con is the likely next step for the film. Along with Jackson, Martin Freeman (Bilbo), Ian McKellan (Gandalf), Richard Armitage (Thorin) and even Gollum himself, Andy Serkis are expected to attend to promote the film. Super-secret exclusive footage is pretty much a given, notes MTV.

Expectations for the film are through the roof. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has 17 Oscars and $2.8 billion worldwide in its back pocket. The Hobbit has also seen a lengthy and troubled pre-production period, slipping into that Hollywood graveyard known as “development hell” for several years. Director Jackson initially intended to serve the film in a producer’s capacity, turning over the director’s seat to Guillermo Del Toro before the latter pulled out. Jackson finally took the helm himself (read: getting sh*t done) and the movie appears to be well on its way to theaters near you.

Are you excited to see The Hobbit?