Ever wanted to see a man gurn with what looks like a multitude of pustules on his face? I’m guessing not. But when that man is Benedict Cumberbatch and the pustules are actually motion capture tracking dots translating every facial micro-movement into those of a living, breathing CGI dragon, the answer is suddenly ‘YES! YES! ALL OF THE YES!‘
While the mighty treasure-loving Smaug was merely teased in the opening and closing scenes of director Peter Jackson’s epic THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, the trailer for its sequel THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG proudly displays the creature in all of his visual and vocal majesty. From the moment he was cast, audiences have wondered what SHERLOCK actor Cumberbatch would bring to the role and I, among many, find the voice to be perfect – a glorious combination of creepy and powerful. It is satisfyingly bad-ass.
To create Smaug, Cumberbatch effectively became the dragon through physically acting in a performance capture studio, the same (albeit now much more advanced) technology that was pioneered by Andy Serkis 12 years ago for THE LORD OF THE RINGS’ Gollum. The images below, available thanks to the Tolkienerd Flickr page and Sherlockology Twitter account, show the actor taking on a draconian pose and roaring whilst wearing some funny headgear and a comfy-looking pair of Adidas trousers. The final image indicates that the stills are taken from an unreleased featurette, potentially an upcoming addition to Peter Jackson’s fantastic YouTube production diaries.
Cumberbatch also has a second role in the film, that of the Necromancer of Dol Guldur. While only briefly appearing in AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, we are told the character will play a more substantial part in the second and third parts of the trilogy.
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG stars Cumberbatch’s SHERLOCK co-star Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellan as the wizard Gandalf and Orlando Bloom as elven archer Legolas, who had the best line in THE LORD OF THE RINGS (‘They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them!’). It desolates cinemas in the UK and US on 13th December.
