From its epic scale and unmatched sense of adventure to its beloved characters and the unforgettable relationships between them, Lord of the Rings remains the all-time best series of fantasy films. Now, LotR is back in the zeitgeist thanks to Amazon’s Middle-earth TV series,
2024’s animated feature film, The War of the Rohirrim, is set 183 years before The Lord of the Rings trilogy — and therefore 123 years before The Hobbit. Like the live-action trilogies, The War of the Rohirrim is set 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 story focuses primarily on Helm’s daughter, Hèra, and her role in the conflict between Rohan and the Dunlendings.
Read our The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review.
The Hobbit trilogy is set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, despite being released a decade later.
Chronologically, the story kicks off with 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which sees Martin Freeman take on the role of a younger Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm in the LotR trilogy). Gandalf – one of several characters whose stories run through both trilogies — recruits Bilbo to join Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Company to help 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 first time and comes into possession of the One Ring.
Read our The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review.
Thorin and Company continue their journey toward The Lonely Mountain, fending off giant spiders and orcs along the way. Orlando Bloom’s Legolas (another LotR staple) joins the fray alongside newcomer Tauriel (played by Ant-Man’s Evangeline Lilly). While the company reaches Esgaroth, a lake-town south of Erebor, Bilbo descends into the mountain, where he encounters Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). Smaug ultimately leaves his lair and departs for Esgaroth, setting up the conclusion of The Hobbit trilogy.
Read our The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review.
The conflict with Smaug is resolved and the film’s titular battle ensues involving the armies of men, dwarves, elves, and two tribes of orcs. We’re being extra vague here as The Battle of the Five Armies is ripe with resolution (and therefore spoilers), but prepare for an action-heavy film that ultimately leaves off where The Lord of the Rings trilogy begins: back at the Shire, 60 years later, as Gandalf visits Bilbo on his 111th birthday.
Read our The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review.
The first Middle-earth film by release date is 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The perspective shifts from Bilbo to his much-younger cousin Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Following some exposition that sets up the current state of affairs in Middle-earth, we return to Bilbo’s 111th birthday celebration in the Shire.
Bilbo departs on one last adventure, leaving the One Ring with Frodo; Gandalf warns Frodo he must leave the Shire, as Sauron (the Lord of the Rings) and his evil cronies — specifically the Nazgûl, a host of nine horse-mounted wraiths — will be coming for the ring. Frodo departs the Shire with his best friend, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), along with fellow hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippen (Billy Boyd).
After some perilous travel and character introductions, including Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom), and Saruman (Christopher Lee), a plan is devised to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mordor’s Mount Doom, where the Rings of Power were forged. The plan is to be carried out by a ragtag group 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 journey leads them to Lothlórien, an Elven realm ruled by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel, who also appears throughout The Hobbit trilogy and is one of the main protagonists of the new Amazon series (this younger version of Galadriel is played by Morfydd Clark). Galadriel advises Frodo, and he decides to continue his journey to Mordor without the others, bringing only his most trusted confidant, Sam.
Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring review.
Frodo and Sam take on a third, reluctant travel companion in Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), a hobbit long ago corrupted by the power of the One Ring. The trio makes it to the outskirts of Mordor, though are stalled by an unforeseen intervention. The other members of the Fellowship embark on a rescue mission; Gandalf takes a new form; and the trilogy’s first epic battle occurs in the gorge of Helm’s Deep.
Read our The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers review.
As with The Battle of the Five Armies, The Return of the King’s plot is essentially all spoilers, so we’ll again highlight only the broadest story beats. Gollum, exploiting the influence of the Ring, pits Frodo against Sam and leads the former into the lair of a deadly foe. The other members of the Fellowship, meanwhile, partake in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields — a massive, final fight against the dark forces of Sauron.
Frodo and Sam ultimately enter Mordor in disguise and, with help from the other members of the Fellowship, see the original plan through. With the journey concluded, we enter 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.
The franchise’s next big-screen entry will be 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 hit theaters on December 17, 2027. Peter Jackson is also involved, serving as an executive producer, while Ian Holm has already confirmed his return as Gandalf. Fortunately, it seems this next movie has absolutely no connection to the (rather bad) Gollum video game.
Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have also struck a deal to produce more Lord of the Rings movies. Few details have been revealed, though we know the deal covers “multiple” films.
The Rings of Power: Season 2 aired its finale in October 2024. Fans of the show will be pleased to know Season 3 is already in the works, though a premiere date has not been announced.
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