Ahead of the film’s Comic-Con panel this coming Saturday, Warner Bros. has released the first The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies for director Peter Jackson’s concluding installment in his Hobbit trilogy.  This poster officially bills the film as “The Defining Chapter”, as the title tells us we’ll be privy to a pivotal battle that sets the Middle-earth stage for the events of The Lord of the Rings saga.  Though I’ve been a bit disappointed with the Hobbit films themselves, there’s no denying that this debut Battle of the Five Armies poster is pretty swell.  It depicts a fiery standoff between the nefarious dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) and Luke Evans’ Bard the Bowman, and things do not look to be going great in Lake-Town.

Hit the jump to check out the first The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies poster in all its glory, and come back to Collider on Saturday for our full Comic-Con panel recap.  The film opens in theaters on December 17th.

The poster was revealed on The Hobbit Twitter page.

the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies-poster

Here’s the official synopsis for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies:

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

Click here for all of our The Hobbit coverage.