How to Watch the Lord of the Rings In Order

(Photo by New Line Cinema. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.)

Want to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and shows in order as they came out?

Well now, in the First Age of adaptations, whereupon artists and filmmakers attempted initial transmutation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s crystal-perfect foundation of modern fantasy into the domain of cinema, there were three animated films. First was the 1971 TV special of The Hobbit, produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, covering Bilbo Baggins’ straight story for some kingly dwarven gold.

In 1978, Ralph Bakshi directed the theatrical feature The Lord of the Rings (utilizing some of the unsettling rotoscoping techniques employed in his previous Wizards), roughly adapting both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and introducing Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum, the One Ring, and Sauron to a broad new audience. In 1980, Rankin and Bass made another TV movie with The Return of the King. Though the Rankin/Bass and Bakshi projects were not made in coordination with another, they do tell the complete Rings saga.

The animated trilogy (1977-1980)

71% The Hobbit (1977)

49% The Lord of the Rings (1978)

67% The Return of the King (1980)

Then came the Peter Jackson age. Three films shot consecutively over 400 days in New Zealand, the early-2000s Lord of the Rings trilogy made household names (or household-ier names) out of the likes of Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Serkis and many more. A towering achievement decades on, the trilogy was created in the sweet spot within the blazing golden years of practical sets and effects, and the full emergence of computer graphics, being pioneered by Jackson’s own WETA FX for Gollum’s true-to-life presentation and large-scale battle scene planning and construction.

In these movies, we journey with the Fellowship entrusted with the care and destruction of the One Ring, travelling across the bucolic splendor of The Shire, the subterranean Mines of Moira, human capital seat Minas Tirith, the Helms Deep fortress, and Mount Doom itself. Each entry premiered in the Decembers across 2001-2003, year-end epic treasures that would go on to gross nearly $3 billion worldwide and win 17 Oscars off of 30 nominations, including Best Picture for The Return of the King.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)

92% The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

95% The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

94% The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Every film since in this continuity has been a prequel. Originally, it didn’t take long after Return that talks of adapting The Hobbit began bubbling up like so many Uruk-hai babies. Guillermo del Toro was long attached to the project before dropping out in 2010, with Jackson then graduating again from producer to director. Studio constraints originally dictated that the Lord of the Rings be a two-film project before final distributor New Line Cinema saw the wisdom (and sweet box office lembas bread) in making three films, and Jackson was once again allowed to expand The Hobbit from a planned two films to three. The Hobbit films are set sixty years before the LotR trilogy.

Another prequel, the animated War of the Rohirrim, is set 183 years before the trilogy and features two factions of men (noble Rohan, and ruthless plains-dwelling Dundelings) in combat.

Two more live-action films are planned. Announced so far is another prequel, currently known as Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, scheduled for 2026. Original trilogy actor Serkis will return to star and direct.

The Lord of the Rings prequels (2012-2014, 2024, 2026)

64% The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

74% The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

59% The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

59% The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

- - The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (2026)

And now the Amazon age. With the movie rights tucked away in the clutches of Hollywood executives like such preciouseseses, it fell to giant industry-disrupting streamer Amazon to gain foothold in the realm of television. Amazon, with only direct access to the more ancillary (if still enormous) parts of Tolkien’s lore and a commitment of five seasons, produced The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It’s of a separate continuity from any adaptation that’s come before. Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-Earth, up to three thousand years before the Third Age (depicted in the live-action movies). In the series, we see youngling Galadriel as she navigates an era where the Rings are created, the Nazgûl arrive, and the great capital cities of Men are developed.

The Rings of Power series (2022-)

84% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1 (2022)

84% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2 (2024)

Below is the Lord of the Rings movies and series in chronological order of release.