Peter Jackson completes The Hobbit prequels

The cast of the highly-anticipated The Hobbit movies is celebrating after finally wrapping director Peter Jackson's epic 266-day shoot.

Martin Freeman, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Sir Ian McKellen are among the stars who have jetted out to New Zealand for filming, which began in March last year (11).

And on Friday (06Jul12), Jackson took to his Facebook.com page to share his delight after completing the two blockbusters, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There And Back Again.

He writes, "We made it! Shoot day 266 and the end of principal photography on The Hobbit.

"Thanks to our fantastic cast and crew for getting us this far, and to all of you for your support! Next stop, the cutting room. Oh, and (fan convention) Comic Con! Cheers, Peter J."

Freeman, McKellan and Jackson are all scheduled to appear at a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, California later this month (Jul12).

The first Hobbit movie, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel, is due for release in December (12), while the second installment will hit theatres in December 2013.