The Hobbit Tickets Go On Sale Wednesday, Lord of the Rings Marathon Announced

Advance tickets for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as a Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit all-day marathon, will go on sale Wednesday, Nov. 7 starting at 12 p.m. EST. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due in theaters on December 9, and the marathon--which will screen the Extended Editions of all three Lord of the Rings films, leading up to the midnight release of The Hobbit, will begin on December 8. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is set 60 years after the events of The Hobbit, which director Peter Jackson is also shooting as a trilogy, but the film version will reportedly use the "future" versions of the characters from Lord of the Rings as a framing device, meaning that the beginning and end of the story may take place following the final Lord of the Rings film, the Academy Award-winning Return of the King. Sir Ian McKellen, who will reprise his role as Gandalf in the new films, is one of a number of X-Men cast members who rumor has it may return to reprise their roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the time-traveling sequel to X-Men: First Class as well.