Lord of the Rings movies in order: How to watch in chronological and release order

One franchise to rule them all.

By Mireia MullorPublished: 21 September 2023

The Lord of the Rings franchise keeps expanding JRR Tolkien's universe on the big screen, with upcoming movies like The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, as well as new TV seasons for Prime Video's The Rings of Power.

Now, with every new release, we might need a reminder of how The Lord of the Rings' timeline really works, so we don't get lost in some remote corner of Middle-earth. Here's how to watch all Lord of the Rings movies in order.

It's been more than 20 years since Peter Jackson's first trilogy, a fan-favourite, Oscar-winning, epic journey that still stands the test of time. However, there are more stories to be told within Tolkien's work, and studios are very keen on revisiting different periods of time and characters.

It seems that, for now, the franchise is looking at the past, hundreds of years before Frodo's time. That's the case with The War of the Rohirrim, an animated film developed by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Animation that focuses on the story of the Helm's Deep fortress and the legendary King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand. Succession's Brian Cox will voice the king, while Miranda Otto will reprise the role of Éowyn as the narrator of the film.

There is still much to explore in this high fantasy world, but, for the moment, this is how to put everything in order.

Lord of the Rings movies in release order

New Line Cinema

If you want to watch all The Lord of the Rings movies as they came out in cinemas, here's the list you should be looking at.

As we can see, Peter Jackson is a key figure in translating Tolkien's amazing story to the big screen, although the critical and fan reception of both his trilogies couldn't be more different.

We've also added 1978's The Lord of the Rings, the first-ever movie adaptation of Tolkien's books, in case you don't want to miss anything.

• The Lord of the Rings (1978)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV show, 2022)

Soon, we will be adding to the list the animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is coming up in 2024, as well as Rings of Power season 2.

Lord of the Rings movies in chronological order

New Line Cinema

To watch The Lord of the Rings movies in order, you just have to flip the order of the two trilogies, since The Hobbit is a prequel. Yes, that easy!

Here's how to watch The Lord of the Rings movies (and TV shows) in chronological order:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV, 2022)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

As we mentioned before, a new movie is coming up next year, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is set around 250 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. That means it will placed before The Hobbit and after The Rings of Power.

As you see, there's not much difficulty in putting all The Lord of the Rings movies in order, so get on with that weekend marathon already!

Mireia Mullor

Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn