O.k., this was expected. When Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth was expanded from two movies to three, the second installment was slated for December 2013, with the third installment set to appear 7 months later in July 2014. This was a bit strange, seeing as every one of Jackson's Middle-Earth films were released in December, but I was kinda looking forward to the shorter wait (I am a very impatient man). But now that the wait will be longer, with the movie being put back to December 17th, where it belongs really.
via Deadline