Andy Serkis has suggested that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is relevant to today's world.
Author JRR Tolkien published The Hobbit back in 1937, but Serkis - who plays Gollum in the film - feels that the messages in the fantasy epic remain important.
"I think the Lord of the Rings movies happened at a time of a huge kind of world change, as did the books. And I think again we're going through seismic shifts in the world again now," Serkis told Flicks and Bits.
"I think at those times we turn to stories like this, which are very archetypal, they're big, mythic journeys.
And although they are a form of escapism, they actually say so much about the world we live in. The characters are incredibly rich."
Serkis previously credited the role of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy with changing his life.
"Gollum had been such an important role for me, and he never really went away - I've been constantly reminded of him as a character practically every day of my life since The Lord of the Rings," he said recently.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is at cinemas nationwide.
