IGN visited the New Zealand set of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug back in 2011 -- back when The Hobbit was still only meant to be two films and not a trilogy. With the addition of a third and final film, the scenes we saw shot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey were subsequently bumped until the (new) second film, The Desolation of Smaug.

So at long last we can tell you about the action-packed sequence we observed being film and share with you our interviews with actors Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly, who play the elves Legolas and Tauriel, respectively.

Loading

The sequence we saw being filmed was the great barrel escape where Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves flee from Thranduil the Elvenking (Lee Pace) in empty wine barrels downriver. They are attacked from the river banks by pursuing goblins, whom they fight off with swords as they rush past. Director Peter Jackson and his crew constructed what looked like a water park on a sound stage at the Stone Street studio backlot in Wellington.Adapted from the ninth chapter ("Barrels Out of Bond") in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, the set-piece begins with Bilbo, using the Ring to make him invisible, freeing Thorin and his fellow dwarves from their cells while the Elves have a feast. Using wine barrels and a trap door that drops into an underground river, Bilbo and the dwarves make their escape. As bad luck would have it, they are spotted in the river by scouts for the villainous Azog the Goblin who then engage in a chase-battle as the barrels speed downriver.With water tanks creating an artificial river and big fans adding to the effect of river rapids, the actors (including Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage) spent several hours essentially on an amusement park ride as they circled round and round the track "fighting" goblins who will later be added digitally. The actors, though tired and soaked, seemed to be having a grand time shooting the sequence.