[TheMisfortuneTeller]

As most informed persons know, Tolkien re-wrote sections of The Hobbit -- especially the "Riddles in the Dark" chapter -- so as to make the earlier book conform to the Lord of the Rings as it developed later. So Peter Jackson certainly has grounds for thinking that Tolkien wanted the two works to seamlessly merge into the larger mythology of Middle Earth. Still, everything hinges on preventing the inclusion of so much background history -- especially Gandalf's geopolitical grand strategy vis-a-vis Sauron -- from submerging and marginalizing the individual story of Bilbo Baggins, "the" hobbit. Another danger lies in the temptation to prevent this marginalization by making Bilbo Baggins more significant to the larger story than his natural character and essential innocence will bear. Creative opportunities exist, certainly, but just as many for bloated, commercial disaster as for refined enhancement of an already good and sufficient story.

I have other hopes and fears, but these will do for the present.