Peter Jackson Begins Answering Fan Questions About 'The Hobbit'

As fans eagerly await Peter Jackson's next video diary from the set of The Hobbit, the super-interactive director has begun a new feature on his Facebook page. Jackson will, once again, be answering 20 specially selected questions over the next few months and the first one is now up. The question is:

Are we going to see the White Council attacking Dol Guldor?

Jackson's answer not only gives an idea of the scope of these films (which were just given official release dates and titles) , but reveals an exclusive new image. Don't worry, it's spoiler free and a little bit of a joke. Read what he had to say, what the question means and check out the image after the break.

This all went down on Jackson's Facebook page which is fast becoming your one stop shopping destination for official pre-release Hobbit news.

Actually, Jackson answered two questions in this first installment, the first being a bit of a swerve, showing his sense of humor as well as his dedication to the fans who are anxiously anticipating The Hobbit:

Fan: Will you have time to sift through 4,000 questions just to answer twenty of them?

Jackson: Yes, I will. I've been very busy recently, not just with shooting, but with location scouting and prep work during our days off, so I've found it hard to get to the questions. However, today I have enjoyed sitting down and reading through them all. I'll get started and continue to answer what seem to be the most popular questions during the next few weeks (as well as some one-off, quirky ones!).

Then onto the real question which, once again was "Are we going to see the White Council attacking Dol Guldor?"

Before the answer, some back story. Dol Guldor is one of the highest points in Middle Earth and it was where Sauron was based in the years before the War of the Ring. Knowing Sauron's power, Galadriel formed the White Council, a group of wise elders, to watch over him from afar. Gandalf tried to get the Council to invade Dol Guldor many times but Saruman, also on the White Council, was against it. Eventually, when Sarumam, who sought the Ring for himself, realized Sauron thought the Ring was there, he agreed. However, the battle was all for naught as Sauron foresaw it and fled, making his home in Mordor.

So, will we see that attack? Here's Jackson:

This was quite a popular topic, with JOHN LIDDLE, TOBY PHILLIPS and SETH DONALD, [/Film note: Those are fan names] along with many others, asking variations of this same question.

I'm not going to say just what and when, but I will confirm that both the White Council and Dol Guldur will feature in the movies. And not just in one scene either. Just how to visualise it has been a challenge, but fortunately Alan Lee and John Howe went crazy with ideas, and it should look pretty cool.

In fact to celebrate the start of these 20 questions, I'll show you an exclusive photo of the White Council planning the attack on Dol Guldur! Even if you don't want to be hit with spoilers, you should still take a look. For the first image of Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel brandishing an array of fearsome Elvish weapons, click here.

And here's the image Jackson posted.

That's, of course, Jackson, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellan.

Did you submit questions to Jackson? What do you hope he answers?