It’s been a long while since we last heard from director Peter Jackson in a Hobbit production diary vlog; but just like he promised he returned to preview the next movie in The Hobbit trilogy. To start things off, Jackson delivered rather unfortunate news that The Desolation of Smaug will not make an appearance at Comic Con later this month. His crew and the stars will all be busy as the next two films are still in production and Jackson admits that he simply doesn’t have time to shift focus on preparing a sizzle reel for fans at the moment. With that said, our guide takes us back to Middle Earth for pickups. Though prinicipal photography wrapped in July of last year, the director explains that the gang was required to get back together to re-shoot certain scenes and additional footage that previously couldn’t be done due to factors like bad weather and other unforeseen circumstances. “It’s a reunion of people, props, and sets,” he says. He goes on to mention the upcoming Battle of Five Armies featuring the dwarves coming in the third pic There And Back Again, and we also get to hear from the luminous Evangeline Lilly who plays the elf Tauriel.

Like the rest before, this production vlog is jam-packed with all sorts of Hobbit goodness for fans to scan and devour. Witness locations, sets, costumes, and characters come back to life in this vlog all about pickups. And stay tuned; Jackson hints at another diary coming soon when pickup shooting concludes. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits theatres December 13.

Editor’s Note: The tenth and final Hobbit production diary that covers the days and hours leading up to and including the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is posted after the break in case you missed it, like me.