Six new Hobbit releases have been announced, including a 17 cm metallic Smaug sitting on his treasure and a two-pack featuring Kíli and Fíli. The license had not received a single new figure since the mid-2010s. Release is scheduled for late 2026.
Ten years without a single Hobbit POP
The history of the range can be summed up in three waves, all timed with the theatrical releases. An Unexpected Journey gave us Bilbo #12, Gandalf #13 and Gollum #14. The Desolation of Smaug added Invisible Bilbo #44, Legolas #46, Thorin #47 and Azog #48. The Battle of the Five Armies closed the series with Tauriel #123 and a 6-inch Smaug #124.
Then, nothing. While The Lord of the Rings kept receiving new waves, The Hobbit range came to a complete standstill.
The new series starts again at #2184. That is a gap of more than two thousand numbers from the last release, which gives a fairly concrete idea of how much time has passed.
Metallic Smaug in Deluxe format – POP #2188
The centerpiece of the wave, by far.
This is a Pop! Deluxe figure measuring 17.3 cm, well above the usual 10 cm format, with the dragon sitting atop a pile of gold. The official description does not hold back: “Sitting atop a pile of treasure, this dragon is prepared to rain fire and death upon any who dare to steal even a single coin from him.”
Long-time collectors will notice the callback. Back in 2014, the 6-inch Smaug #124 already had a Gold Metallic variant, but it was a Hot Topic exclusive, making it difficult to find outside the United States. Twelve years later, the metallic finish returns as a standard release, in a larger format and available more widely.
Expect prices between €28.79 and €29.99 from the first French retailers, compared with Funko’s $29.99 retail price.
Thranduil, Kíli and Fíli: three characters missing from the original range
- Thranduil – POP #2184: the Elvenking of Mirkwood never appeared in any of the license’s original waves, even though his son Legolas received a figure as early as #46 and Tauriel got hers at #123. A generously sized 11.4 cm figure, starting at €14.39.
- Kíli and Fíli – two-pack: Thorin’s nephews arrive together in a pack listed between €26.99 and €29.99. Once again, two major members of the company who had never previously been made into POP figures.
Funko is therefore filling gaps rather than simply re-releasing characters that already existed, which was far from guaranteed for a license being revived after a decade.
Bilbo with the chest, armed Azog, metallic Thorin
- Bilbo Baggins – POP #2185: the official catalogue names it Bilbo Baggins with Chest, with a chest included in the sculpt. A detail that many French product listings do not mention. 9.7 cm, starting at €14.39.
- Azog the Defiler – POP #2186: announced with his weapon. Funko’s description sums up his role in one sentence: “Determined to destroy the last of Durin's line”. 9.1 cm, at the same price point.
- Thorin Oakenshield – POP #2187: in a metallic finish, measuring 10.4 cm. The second metallic release in the wave, suggesting Funko wanted to create a visual pairing with Smaug rather than use the effect as a one-off gimmick.
A wider Middle-earth wave beyond The Hobbit
These six releases are not arriving alone. They are part of a broader Middle-earth lineup that also includes four new entries from The Lord of the Rings:
- a Balrog in Super format with special effects,
- Barad-dûr in the Town range, with a glow-in-the-dark finish,
- Sauron with his weapon, in Premium format and also glow-in-the-dark,
- Samwise Gamgee, the only figure representing the heroes in this batch.
Ten releases in total, with an obvious emphasis on oversized formats and antagonists. Funko is no longer treating Middle-earth as a simple character range, but as a franchise where the format itself can vary from release to release.
What to prioritize
The Smaug Deluxe is the obvious centerpiece: the size, the finish, and the fact that it effectively revisits an exclusive many collectors could not get hold of in 2014. Thranduil and the Kíli-Fíli pack come next, simply because they had never existed before.
“I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure,” Gandalf once told a hobbit who had asked for nothing of the sort. Twelve years after the first film, the company is finally more or less complete on collectors’ shelves. Pre-orders are open, with release scheduled for November or December 2026 depending on the source.
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