The first official photo of Evangeline Lilly (‘Lost’, ‘The Hurt Locker’) playing the character of Tauriel in the upcoming installment of ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” has finally hit, giving us a taste of Middle Earth before its arrival this coming December.

Tauriel’s character was not created by Tolkien but by Director Peter Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, so that they could expand on the world of the elves of Mirkwood Forest — and to bring some more female energy to the otherwise male-dominated ‘Hobbit’ narrative, writes Entertainment Weekly.

“Tauriel is the head of the Elven Guard,” Lilly said. “She’s a Sylvan Elf, which means she’s of a much lower order than the elves we all became acquainted with in The Lord of the Rings. She doesn’t hold the same kind of status that Arwen or Galadriel or Elrond or Legolas do — she’s much more lowly. She sort of goes against the social order of the elves a little bit.”

When asked if her character would have a love story, Evangeline, who is set to appear in the the second and third installments of ‘The Hobbit’ replied: "She will definitely have a love story. I can’t give away too much about it. It’s not a huge focus but it is there and it is important and it does drive Tauriel and her story and her actions.”

When Entertainment Weekly speculated on Tauriel’s possible involvement with Orlando Bloom's character Legolas, Evangeline replied: "Tauriel’s relationship with Legolas is significant. They’ve known each other since they were children, and Legolas’ dad, [Elven king] Thrandruil, has a soft spot for Tauriel and sees something very special in her. So if you grow up side by side, and your dad has a very special spot in his heart for this young woman who’s a fantastic warrior, I think it’s hard not to notice her. That’s probably as much as I can say.”

‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ will continue to follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. It is due for release on 13 December 2013.