The Hobbit (film series) was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project. The films take place in the fictional world of Middle-earth sixty years before the beginning of "The Lord of the Rings", and follow hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and
Smaug (genus) Smaug (genus) Smaug is a genus of lizards in the family Cordylidae. The genus "Smaug" is a group of species of spiny southern African lizards, separated from the genus "Cordylus" in 2011 on the basis of a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Cordylidae. The type species is the giant girdled lizard, "S. giganteus" (formerly "Cordylus giganteus"). The genus "Smaug" was named for the character Smaug, in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit": Smaug is the name of the dragon encountered by Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's book "The Hobbit". According to Tolkien the name is derived from the