Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth with the first of three films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's enduring masterpiece. Set in Middle-earth 60 years before the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, the adventure follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of dwarves on a journey into wild, treacherous lands swarming with beasts of every ilk. Although their goal lies to the East, they must first escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo gains possession of Gollum's "precious" -- a simple, gold ring tied to the fate of all Middle-earth.