Warner Bros. have announced that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug DVD and Blu-ray extended edition release date is set for November 4 and will include 25 minutes of additional footage.

The highly anticipated The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Blu-ray extended edition is headed for an early November release, just a month before the final film hits theaters, and we’ll be getting a chance to enjoy an extra 25 minutes of footage from extended sequences.

Director Peter Jackson is a master at creating extended editions for his films that are highly anticipated and fans have begun holding out on their purchase of the film on its first Blu-ray release so that they can pick up the extended edition as soon as it arrives. Check out the extended edition’s official box art below:

When we announced the original film’s Blu-ray release date and our review of the second Hobbit film’s Blu-ray bonus features, the consensus was that fans should wait until the extended edition was released. It seems those who waited made the right choice, as it not only includes 25 minutes of new footage, but nine hours of behind-the-scenes footage.

The extended edition’s digital release date has been set for late October, but that could be a fairly large download considering the nine hours of behind-the-scenes footage on Blu-ray. While we can’t imagine many people are doing digital downloads for this film, it’s certainly not the best film to start on due to a combined total of 12 hours of footage.

Warner Bros. have also released a clip via Yahoo! from one of the new deleted scenes, which features Bilbo and his dwarven company attempting to cross an enchanted stream. Bilbo gets the short end of the stick as Thorin tells them they should “send the lightest one first.”

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s extended edition will include audio commentary from director Peter Jackson, and co-screenwriter and producer Philippa Boyens and will include the highly regarded “The Appendices,” which fans have adored since it first appeared on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings extended edition DVD back in 2002.

The timing is perfect, as The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies world premiere is set for December 17, and will be the final film in Jackson’s now six-film epic Middle Earth adventure.

As for pricing the five-disc extended edition will be $55, while the three-disc set will be $36. Each set will include a digital version of the film via UltraViolet.

We’re excited to see Jackson’s 25-minutes of new footage, which will make the film 186 minutes long. More importantly, we can’t wait to get our hands on The Desolation of Smaug’s extended edition so that we can enjoy nine hours of behind-the-scenes footage from a director that has proven to be a step above anyone else in terms of behind-the-scenes production.

Let us know if you plan on picking up The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug extended edition on DVD/Blu-ray when it is released on November 4.