‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ Teaser Trailer: We (Finally) Get to See a Dragon

The titular dragon finally makes an appearance in the first teaser trailer for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which hit the web Tuesday. It’s a quick glimpse — he sniffs around for his would-be killer, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) — but enough to whet appetites for the final showdown between the beast and the hobbit and dwarves who’ve come to end him off.

In addition to that familiar mob, the trailer also gives us our first look at Thranduil the Elven King (Lee Pace) and new character Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly. Oh yeah, and some guy named Legolas (Orlando Bloom) shows up, too. (Cue rapidly beating hearts.)

There’s a lot of action and some splendid teases of iconic set pieces from the book — including the barrel sequence and the spiders in the forest — and the entire clip gives off a vibe of nervous anticipation. Will our heroes make it out of Smaug’s cave alive? Will the addition of Tauriel be a success or a bust? Will Legolas flip his hair?

We’ll find out when “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” opens on December 13.