FacebookAll good things must come to an end.
That was certainly the case for Sherlock costars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch this week as they wrapped up their work on the final two installments of Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit saga: The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again.
After posting a playful pic of the two on his Facebook page with the caption, "Smaug admires Bilbo's feet," Jackson followed it up with another shot of Freeman waving on set.
"Tonight Martin Freeman finished his last shot as Bilbo Baggins," the director wrote. "The end of an incredible two and a half years. I cannot imagine anyone else in this role—a character that Martin has nurtured and crafted with love and great skill."
He added, "We have said goodbye to our elves, humans, wizards and now the hobbit. We now enter our final 2 weeks of pick-ups, and it's wall to wall dwarves. These pick-ups have been grueling and intense, but I'm so happy with what we've been shooting. These next two movies are going to be pretty great!"
In May, Jackson informed Middle-earth fans that he had resumed final filming.
"Back on the set for our last Hobbit pickups," Jackson wrote on his Facebook page at the time. "Our last ever Tolkien pickups, in fact. It's going to be an intense few weeks, but we're looking forward to shooting some powerful scenes with our great cast."
At the end of June, Ian McKellen shot his final scene as Gandalf, with Jackson posting a photo of himself with McKellen, whose pensive expression succinctly summed up the duo's emotions during the actor's last shooting day.
"Seconds ago we finished our last shot with Gandalf," Jackson wrote. "The end of an incredible adventure that began in 1999. I'm feeling very sad right now."
The adventure, of course, continues to be a lucrative one for Jackson and Warner Bros. After all, the first installment in The Hobbit trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, grossed over $1 billion worldwide, only the 15th film in history to do so.
Meanwhile, the next entry, The Desolation of Smaug, arrives in theaters on Dec. 13, with There and Back Again scheduled to be released on Dec. 17, 2014.