TheOneRing.net have posted the following scan from one of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies companion books that are about to hit shelves. This is "The Necromancer", aka the Dark Lord Sauron in the form he took before the giant flaming eye we saw in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. As you can see he looks pretty much as he did in the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring before having his armoured body destroyed by Isildur. He also appears to be holding something...perhaps one of the Palantír seeing stones to tempt Saruman with? Like Smaug the Dragaon, the Necromancer will be voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch in the film.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.
Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving and Orlando Bloom,
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is set to be released on December 17th.