Hobbit - brief thought and [head]canon-related mirth

I'm stupidly enthused about all the cute little fanart of the Dwarves from The Hobbit.  I'm going to give the film a couple more weeks to stew in my head before seeing it again, but I'm already looking forward to it.  Since I wasn't a Tolkien fan when the LotR films came out, whereas now I'm possibly a bit too immersed for my own good, this trying to reconcile my annoyance with my glee is new.  I think I'd do well to consider it as a big fancy AU, as I've noted some of you doing, although it's easier to accept AU in fanfic than in a blockbuster film already seen by millions of people and generating a new fanbase.

On a vaguely related note, have a picture of Richard Armitage as Angus in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1999 production of Macbeth.
( ......... )

Also, I saw someone speculating on tumblr that Saruman
( minor spoiler for the current film )