Release date for highly anticipated, third 'Hobbit' film announced

July 14, 2012: Director Peter Jackson speaks during a panel for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" during the Comic Con International convention in San Diego, California. (Reuters)

BURBANK, Calif. – "Hobbit" fans need only wait seven months between the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's highly anticipated trilogy.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures announced Friday the final film in the series will be called "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" and released worldwide on July 18, 2014. The title was taken from the second installment, which will now be called "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."

Here's how it all breaks down:
  -- "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,' Dec. 14, 2012.
  -- "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." Dec. 13, 2013.
  -- "The Hobbit: There and Back Again," July 18, 2014.

Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved masterpiece, "The Hobbit" series will be released in High Frame Rate 3-D, other 3-D formats, IMAX and 2-D.