And whither then?

So here we are the end of all things -- well, not really, but we are at the end of our summer course. Later this year, I'm sure, many of us will see the extended edition of the first Hobbit film, which is promised just in time to help promote the non-extended theatrical release of the second film. The film goes ever on and on, it seems, and one can only imagine what might be added in, given the cornucopia of the existing 169-minute version. Flashbacks of the Old Took? Silly elvish songs welcoming the dwarves to Rivendell? Another turn of the troll rotisserie? A chance encounter with a ten-year-old Aragorn? The mind reels at the possibilities.

If the LOTR film experience is any guide, we'll be steeping ourselves in Hobbitism at least until Christmas of 2015, when the three-volume expanded film box set will be under our trees (or, by then, more likely just in our streaming queue). And whither then? I cannot say.