Thorin Oakenshield will remain alive in the upcoming instalment of “The Hobbit” film franchise, according to a new report. The brave dwarf leader in the J.R.R. Tolkien 1937 novel is apparently having a different fate in its film adaptation.

According to a report from Ecumenical News, producer/director Peter Jackson largely followed Tolkien’s book for the third instalment of the film, “The Battle of the Five Armies,” but has made one major difference.

“It has been reported that the film will follow Tolkien’s book, though one character who died in the book, Thorin Oakenshield, will remain alive,” the site reads.

“It is still not sure whether Oakenshield’s presence in the movie will have any major effect on the plot.”

Thorin, one of the major characters of “The Hobbit,” is the leader of the Company of Dwarves trying to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon.

In the book, he died from his wounds he obtained from the Battle of Five Armies.

Some fans of the movie franchise who have read the decades-old book have signed an online petition asking Jackson to keep the character alive in the film.

However, as The One Ring noted, Thorin’s death scene has already been filmed, which Richard Armitage, who plays the character, has inadvertently revealed in a letter in 2013.

He wrote a letter to cancer survivor Samantha, who visited the set of the film, and told her that the fans would be satisfied with his character’s death scene.

“Oh it’s so good. I can’t even begin to tell you – it’s so good... The way that’s structured – I know we’re not supposed to talk about it, but it’s... at every level it surpassed my expectation,” Armitage apparently wrote.

“The Hobbit” film series has already finished its production in 2013. The first film, “An Unexpected Journey,” was released in 2012, and has earned over U$1 billion at the box office. “The Desolation of Smaug” was released in 2013, and took in over U$950 million.

“The Battle of the Five Armies” will be released on Dec 17 2014.