How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies in order (chronologically and by release date)

Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings Movies make up one of the most popular fantasy series ever to be put on screen, but there are several different viewing orders that make sense for this story. The movies are based on the works of British author JRR Tolkien, whose original fantasy books take place in Middle-earth and follow a wide selection of humans, elves, dwarves and hobbits as they fight against the dark forces of evil that threaten their Universe. .

Since Peter Jackson’s two trilogies take place in completely different time periods, the audience is now given a choice about how they want to experience the story. There are pros and cons to both Lord of the Rings Viewing orders (release order and chronological order), with each option revealing information at different times and changing the course of certain plot twists and surprises. Plus, with the release of The rings of power On Amazon Prime Video, the cinematic timeline has become even more complex and non-linear.

How many Lord of the Rings movies are there?

There are currently eight Lord of the Rings movies

There are a total of eight movies adapted from JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth books, six in Peter Jackson’s modern series and two animated movies released in 1978 and 1980 respectively. That breaks down into three The Lord of the Rings Movies and three The Hobbit Movies, set for them in the Tolkien cinematic timeline. The first film adaptation of Tolkien’s books was the 1978 animation The Lord of the RingsDirected by Ralph Bashi. which was followed in 1980 by a Rankin-Bass animated adaptation of The return of the king. Jackson’s LOTR trilogy then kicked off in the early 2000s.

Warner Bros. Now has plans for multiple new LotR movies adapted from the books, with a new live-action series, the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Movie and Amazon’s Rings of power Season 2 incoming.

The LOTR movies and Hobbit movies in order (by release)

The best way to watch the Lord of the Rings movies

Watching The Lord of the Rings And The Hobbit In the order the movies were released is the most authentic way to experience the story, With everything happening in the order the writers intended. The characters are introduced when they should be, their arcs happen naturally, and Jackson’s direction gently guides the audience through the story without much confusion. For new audiences, watching The Lord of the Rings In release order undoubtedly makes the most sense.

The Lord of the Rings movies in order by release date

The Hobbit movies in order by release date

While The Hobbit Trilogy is a prequel to the lord of the rings The two series are actually best enjoyed in reverse order. The importance of this viewing order becomes clear once audiences reach Jackson The Hobbit Movies. The sequels assume that the audience is already familiar with the characters of the original trilogy, including Gandalf, Galadriel, and Saruman, inserting them into the story without much explanation.

This is just one of many differences between The Hobbit Movies and the book. A good background knowledge of The Lord of the Rings will really help audiences make the most of the trilogy, Enable them to recognize letters and locations as soon as they appear.

The Lord of the Rings franchise in order of events

The saga in chronological order (including the rings of power)

Watching The Lord of the Rings Movies and TV shows in chronological order is simpler than many other franchisesAs the stories directly follow from one another outside of an incredibly limited number of scenes (such as the opening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey who has a brief moment with Frodo and the older Bilbo).

While Amazon The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is technically part of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings canon, it pays spiritual homage to the acclaimed cinematic trilogy in a number of ways—enough so that when viewing the story in chronological order, it qualifies as a precursor to The Hobbit Trilogy. It’s not essential viewing though, especially since The rings of power Takes place millennia before the events of The Hobbit.

Fans who want to watch all the action live Lord of the Rings Content chronologically should see the series and movies in the previous order (with The rings of power is considered optional, especially since it is still ongoing):

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

While it was released over a decade after the fellowship of the ring, The first movie chronologically in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit was written earlier to be The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and takes place several decades earlier, focusing on the adventures of a younger Bilbo Baggins and explaining how he discovered the One Ring.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first movie in Jackson’s prequel trilogy, and therefore, the first movie in the cinematic timeline. The story follows a young Bilbo Baggins as he is recruited by Gandalf to retrieve stolen treasure from a dangerous dragon named Smaug who lives in an ancient mountain. It is an adaptation of the first act of Tolkien’s novel of the same name, leading up to the gang’s battle with Azog. However, the movie also introduces some storylines that are not part of Tolkien’s novel, and it includes the presence of characters such as Galadriel and Saruman.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

While JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit novel was a single book, Peter Jackson split the story into three sections when adapting the story for the big screen, breaking The Hobbit Down in three different movies. An unexpected journey Covers the beginning of Bilbo’s journey and establishes the overarching plot of the wider trilogy, a story that continues into 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The following movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Takes place moments after the conclusion of An unexpected journey, As Bilbo and his friends continue their travels they encounter the evil dragon who has been guarding the treasure they seek. It picks up right after the gang’s rescue by the eagles and follows them as they arrive at the Lonely Mountain. The film ends with Smaug’s decision to wreak havoc on Laketown as the dwarves arrive to reclaim their home.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

The final chapter in Peter Jackson The Hobbit Trilogy is 2013’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Which is perhaps the closest in scale to the epic scope of the directors The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Once again, the final installment in The Hobbit Trilogy picks up directly after the conclusion of The Desolation of SmaugMostly after the battle that took place between the dragon, Bilbo’s company, the dwarves, the elves, and some other armies that came to take back the land.

This is an exciting conclusion to the trilogy, leading to Bilbo’s return to the Shire, where he remains until his appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring. It is the adventure that Bilbo is seen writing about at the beginning of the first Lord of the Rings Movie, and the ending of The Battle of the Five Armies Serves as an excellent bridge to the events of The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy takes place 60 years later The HobbitFollowing Bilbo’s cousin, Frodo (whom he refers to as his nephew), as he attempts to destroy the One Ring that Bilbo uncovered during the earlier story. 2001s The Fellowship of the Ring Introduces audiences to most of the series’ important characters, sends them off on their adventures and builds the relationships that will be followed for the rest of the trilogy.

Although it is technically a sequel to the habit, Seeing Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy is not essential at all, because nothing happens The Fellowship of the Ring Or the two movies that follows requires knowledge of The Hobbit. The Fellowship of the RingThe End Frodo and Sam split from the group as their friends attempt to rescue Merry and Pippin from the orcs.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The two towers Bridge the gap between the first and last Lord of the Rings movies, splitting up the Fellowship and introducing some new locations on the road to Mordor. The story is mostly split into three parts: Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor with Gollum, Merry and Pippin’s interactions with the Ents, and the remaining heroes’ attempts to save Rohan from Sauron’s armies.

The story culminates with the famous Battle of Helm’s Deep, which sets the stage for the final installment of the trilogy. Although it is the middle segment of the wider story, many key events take place in it the two towers, And it also features one of the franchise’s most epic battle sequences when the Urak-Hai attack Helm’s Deep. The two towers It also stands as a unique testament to both JRR Tolkien’s storytelling ability and Peter Jackson’s skills as a director, because, for the most part, it works just as well as a standalone story as it does as part of a larger narrative.

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings Trilogy culminates in 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which brings all the various narrative threads to a head and sees the united people of Middle-earth make their last stand against the dark lord Sauron and the powers of Mordur. Return of the King is the final entry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and as such, the last chronological entry in the cinematic universe.

The story follows Frodo and his friends as they battle Sauron and eventually destroy the One Ring, bringing peace back to Middle-earth. Return of the King Wraps the story perfectly, and it went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This is also the last chronological point that JRR Tolkien wrote when it comes to the history of Middle-earth, as very little has been disclosed about what happened after The return of the king and the fourth age of Middle-earth that followed.

How the Rings of Power fits into the Lord of the Rings franchise

A new addition to the myth

The rings of power is a series that takes place long before The Lord of the Rings And The HobbitDuring the first age of Middle-earth. It follows a much younger version of Galadriel as she tries to stop Sauron’s rise to power, which ties neatly into the movies that follow many years later.

Although The rings of power Technically not an official prequel, it works within the timeline of Jackson’s films, as it still follows Tolkien’s story of Middle-earth. However, the series takes liberties with Tolkien’s writing, so it’s hard to say if it’s as faithful as the Lord of the Rings Movies.

The first season of The rings of power It stars Morfid Clarke as Galadriel, Robert Aramaio as Elrond, Charlie Vickers as Halbrand, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, and Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir. The rings of power is a big change from The Lord of the Rings, And it Has plans to continue for several more seasons. Whether it will be as highly regarded as the movies remains to be seen, but it’s certainly doing a good job of expanding on Tolkien’s vast lore.

The future of the Lord of the Rings franchise

An anime and a new one LOTR Movie series is coming

The future remains bright for fans of The Lord of the Rings Franchise. In 2023, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the company planned to make several new movies alongside Freemode, a division of the Swedish entertainment company Embracer Group, which previously acquired the movie rights to Tolkien’s work. Zaslab said they will expand “on the much-loved world and characters of Middle-earth.” (via CNN).

This does not include the anime movie Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Which will be released in December 2024. Set 183 years earlier The two towers, The War of the Rohirrim Will center on Helm Hammerhand, the legendary king of Rohan, who looks to defend his land against an army of Dunlendings. Brian Cox (Succession) voices Hammerhand, and Miranda Otto returns as Éowyn.

after that, The next one Lord of the Rings Movie will be The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for GollumScheduled for release in 2026. Andy Serkis, who motion-captured Gollum in the franchise, has signed on to direct the film. This is the first live-fight LOTR Movie since Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy ended in 2014. There are no plot details, but in JRR Tolkien’s books, The dog for Gollum Occurring during a multi-year time jump that separates Bilbo’s birthday party and Frodo leaving the Shire.

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