Peter Jackson 'expanding' Hobbit stories

Peter Jackson has revealed which storylines he’s expanding on for the final film in The Hobbit trilogy.

The director is currently at work on the latest instalment of the fantasy franchise, which will focus much more on Sir Ian McKellen’s wizard character.

"We're developing more story with the elves and with Gandalf," the filmmaker revealed to Total Film Magazine. "We're developing the character of Bard the Bowman [Luke Evans]. We're able to expand what was there, bring in a little bit extra to the mythology and open it up a bit,” he shared.

Peter also plans to incorporate more story into high-octane action scenes so that viewers can see characters develop at a faster pace.

"What we're trying to do is have a lot of that conflict and resolution happen during the course of the battle, so it doesn't just become all action,” he explained. "There's still a plot with the characters to follow, even though they're surrounded by fighting trolls and orcs and things."

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is slated for US release December 17, a year after The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hit cinemas.

The latter film showed Ian and co-star Martin Freeman reprising their respective roles as Gandalf and Bilbo as they continued their quest to reclaim their homeland from a dragon named Smaug. The movie boasts nearly $958.4 million in worldwide earnings to date.