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In "The Hobbit", the ring is not much of a focus; Tolkien himself didn't know what direction he would take the story, if my understanding is correct. It merits only a touch of foreshadowing; it's ominous only to those who know the rest of the story. In itself, The Hobbit does have a (relatively) happy ending, although the death of Thorin does add a sobering note. The carnage in The Hobbit itself is caused by Smaug, the Orcs, and greed - war over Smaug's hoard. It's not primarily a prequel, but a self-contained adventure story that also serves the purpose of a prequel. I would prefer to see it filmed as such, and not turned into a fourth (first) installment in LOTR.
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