How to Watch The Lord of the Rings in Chronological Order

From its epic standard and unmatched consciousness of escapade to its beloved characters and the unforgettable relationships betwixt them, Lord of the Rings remains the all-time champion bid of phantasy films. Now, LotR is backmost successful the zeitgeist acknowledgment to Amazon’s Middle-earth TV series, The Rings of Power (which precocious finished its 2nd season).

Watching the Lord of the Rings movies successful bid is simply a reasonably straightforward endeavor, and we’ve enactment unneurotic this nonfiction to marque definite newcomers tin decently navigate some The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. With bid newcomers successful mind, the little crippled synopses beneath volition beryllium spoiler-free beyond wide crippled points and quality introductions.

At the bottommost of the article, you'll find a 2nd database that orders the films by their existent merchandise dates, if you’d similar to ticker them successful that bid alternatively (as I do).

Jump to:

• How to ticker successful chronological order
• How to ticker by merchandise order

You tin besides cheque retired our usher to speechmaking the Lord of the Rings books successful order, which includes the Silmarillion.

How Many Lord of the Rings Movies Are There?

There are seven full movies acceptable successful J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth: 3 The Lord of the Rings movies, 3 The Hobbit movies, and an animated diagnostic film. (There is besides older animated trilogy of The Hobbit (1977), The Lord of the Rings, (1978), and The Return of the King (1980) which are abstracted from the newer films.)

Where Does Rings of Power Fit successful the Lord of the Rings Timeline?

Amazon’s Rings of Power bid is acceptable during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years earlier the events of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which are acceptable successful the Third Age. This is the play successful Middle-earth during which we’ll spot "the forging of the rings, the emergence of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic communicative of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," according to showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

Here's our Rings of Power occurrence reappraisal guide for the series.

The Lord of the Rings Movies successful Chronological Order

1. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

2024's animated diagnostic film, The War of the Rohirrim, is acceptable 183 years earlier The Lord of the Rings trilogy — and truthful 123 years earlier The Hobbit. Like the live-action trilogies, The War of the Rohirrim is acceptable during Middle-earth's Third Age.

The War of the Rohirrim follows the ninth King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), and his family. The communicative focuses chiefly connected Helm's daughter, Hèra, and her relation successful the struggle betwixt Rohan and the Dunlendings.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review.

2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The Hobbit trilogy is acceptable 60 years earlier The Lord of the Rings, contempt being released a decennary later.

Chronologically, the communicative kicks disconnected with 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which sees Martin Freeman instrumentality connected the relation of a younger Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm successful the LotR trilogy). Gandalf – 1 of respective characters whose stories tally done some trilogies — recruits Bilbo to articulation Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Company to assistance reclaim the Dwarven kingdom beneath Erebor, aka The Lonely Mountain, that had been sacked by the dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bilbo encounters Gollum for the archetypal clip and comes into possession of the One Ring.

Read our The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review.

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Thorin and Company proceed their travel toward The Lonely Mountain, fending disconnected elephantine spiders and orcs on the way. Orlando Bloom’s Legolas (another LotR staple) joins the fray alongside newcomer Tauriel (played by Ant-Man’s Evangeline Lilly). While the institution reaches Esgaroth, a lake-town southbound of Erebor, Bilbo descends into the mountain, wherever helium encounters Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). Smaug yet leaves his lair and departs for Esgaroth, mounting up the decision of The Hobbit trilogy.

Read our The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review.

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

The struggle with Smaug is resolved and the film’s titular conflict ensues involving the armies of men, dwarves, elves, and 2 tribes of orcs. We’re being other vague present arsenic The Battle of the Five Armies is ripe with solution (and truthful spoilers), but hole for an action-heavy movie that yet leaves disconnected wherever The Lord of the Rings trilogy begins: backmost astatine the Shire, 60 years later, arsenic Gandalf visits Bilbo connected his 111th birthday.

Read our The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review.

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

The archetypal Middle-earth movie by merchandise day is 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The position shifts from Bilbo to his much-younger relative Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Following immoderate exposition that sets up the existent authorities of affairs successful Middle-earth, we instrumentality to Bilbo’s 111th day solemnisation successful the Shire.

Bilbo departs connected 1 past adventure, leaving the One Ring with Frodo; Gandalf warns Frodo helium indispensable permission the Shire, arsenic Sauron (the Lord of the Rings) and his evil cronies — specifically the Nazgûl, a big of 9 horse-mounted wraiths — volition beryllium coming for the ring. Frodo departs the Shire with his champion friend, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), on with chap hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippen (Billy Boyd).

After immoderate perilous question and quality introductions, including Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom), and Saruman (Christopher Lee), a program is devised to destruct the Ring successful the fires of Mordor's Mount Doom, wherever the Rings of Power were forged. The program is to beryllium carried retired by a ragtag radical dubbed the Fellowship of the Ring: the wizard Gandalf; the hobbits Frodo, Samwise, Merry, and Pippen; the elf Legolas; the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); and humans Aragorn and Boromir (Sean Bean).

A treacherous travel leads them to Lothlórien, an Elven realm ruled by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel, who besides appears passim The Hobbit trilogy and is 1 of the main protagonists of the caller Amazon bid (this younger mentation of Galadriel is played by Morfydd Clark). Galadriel advises Frodo, and helium decides to proceed his travel to Mordor without the others, bringing lone his astir trusted confidant, Sam.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring review.

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

Frodo and Sam instrumentality connected a third, reluctant question companion successful Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), a hobbit agelong agone corrupted by the powerfulness of the One Ring. The trio makes it to the outskirts of Mordor, though are stalled by an unforeseen intervention. The different members of the Fellowship embark connected a rescue mission; Gandalf takes a caller form; and the trilogy’s archetypal epic conflict occurs successful the gorge of Helm’s Deep.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers review.

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

As with The Battle of the Five Armies, The Return of the King’s crippled is fundamentally each spoilers, truthful we’ll again item lone the broadest communicative beats. Gollum, exploiting the power of the Ring, pits Frodo against Sam and leads the erstwhile into the lair of a deadly foe. The different members of the Fellowship, meanwhile, partake successful the Battle of the Pelennor Fields — a massive, last combat against the acheronian forces of Sauron.

Frodo and Sam yet participate Mordor successful disguise and, with assistance from the different members of the Fellowship, spot the archetypal program through. With the travel concluded, we participate the Fourth Age of Middle-Earth and are treated to a bittersweet finale.

Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King review.

How to Watch The Lord of the Rings Movies By Release Date

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
7. Rings of Power TV Series (2022-Present)
8. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

The Future of Lord of the Rings

The franchise's adjacent big-screen introduction volition beryllium a live-action movie called The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Directed by and starring Andy Serkis, The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to deed theaters connected December 17, 2027. Peter Jackson is besides involved, serving arsenic an enforcement producer, portion Ian Holm has already confirmed his instrumentality arsenic Gandalf. Fortunately, it seems this adjacent movie has perfectly nary transportation to the (rather bad) Gollum video game.

Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema person besides struck a woody to nutrient much Lord of the Rings movies. Few details person been revealed, though we cognize the woody covers "multiple" films.

When Is Rings of Power Season 3?

The Rings of Power: Season 2 aired its finale successful October 2024. Fans of the amusement volition beryllium pleased to cognize Season 3 is already successful the works, though a premiere day has not been announced.