Peter Jackson celebrates The Hobbit wrap by posting stream of photos on Facebook

Director Peter Jackson has thrilled his Facebook fans by providing an unprecedented stream of photos from the set of the final film in The Hobbit trilogy to celebrate the completion of filming in New Zealand.

The film-maker, pictured, posted images of dwarves, crew members and the actor Martin Freeman, who plays the protagonist, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

The photo updates began and ended with pictures of Jackson’s cat, Mr Smudge. The final photo shows the director, who is from New Zealand, and cat cuddling, along with the caption: “A long day. A great day. Thank you all for being part of it! Now for some sleep!”

The second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, will be released in December, and the finale, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, appears next year.

The Hobbit, based on J R R Tolkien’s novel of the same name, is the prequel to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It follows Baggins’ adventures as he tries to help a group of dwarves regain their wealth and stature from the dragon Smaug.

The first film in the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, opened in December 2012 and surpassed $1bn (£650m) in box-office receipts worldwide. Jackson’s Lords of the Rings Trilogy grossed almost $3bn between 2001 and 2003.