Middle-earth on screen is a 25-year project with a simple shape: three films that changed what a fantasy blockbuster could be, a three-film prequel a decade later, an anime feature set two centuries earlier, and a streaming series reaching back thousands of years. With The Rings of Power Season 3 arriving on Prime Video today and Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema at work on new features, here is the whole saga in the order it was released and in the order the story unfolds.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
- The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001. Frodo leaves the Shire with the One Ring and a fellowship of nine. Peter Jackson’s opening chapter, written with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, set the look of Middle-earth for a generation. Digital rental and purchase.
- The Two Towers, 2002. The fellowship scatters; the battle of Helm’s Deep is the centrepiece. Digital rental and purchase.
- The Return of the King, 2003. The war for Middle-earth and the long goodbye. Digital rental and purchase.
Warner Bros. sells all three on digital and 4K UHD Blu-ray, in theatrical and extended editions. Most of the trilogy was shot in Aotearoa New Zealand; our guide to where The Lord of the Rings was filmed maps the locations you can visit.
The Hobbit trilogy
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2012. Bilbo Baggins joins Thorin’s company of dwarves, decades before Frodo’s quest. Digital rental and purchase.
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 2013. Lake-town, Mirkwood and the dragon under the Lonely Mountain. Digital rental and purchase.
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, 2014. Jackson’s final Middle-earth film as director. Digital rental and purchase.
The War of the Rohirrim
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, 2024. A feature-length anime from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and opening in theatres on 13 December 2024. Set 183 years before the original trilogy, it follows Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox) and the defence of the Hornburg, the fortress later known as Helm’s Deep, with Gaia Wise as Héra and Miranda Otto returning as Éowyn to narrate. Boyens produces; Walsh and Jackson executive produce. It made its streaming debut on Max on 28 February 2025 and is sold on digital and 4K UHD Blu-ray.
The animated Lord of the Rings from Ralph Bakshi (1978) predates all of the above and sits outside this run, but completists will want it.
Prime Video
Prime Video
The Rings of Power on Prime Video
Prime Video’s series is the one entry not tied to Jackson’s films. It is set in the Second Age, thousands of years before The Hobbit, and charts the forging of the rings and the rise of Sauron.
- Seasons one and two, 2022 and 2024. Season two launched on 29 August 2024. Prime Video.
- Season three, 2026. Set five years after the fall of Eregion, with Sauron’s armies holding most of Middle-earth and Sauron in Barad-dûr working to harness the One Ring. Episodes one to four arrive on 11 November, episodes five and six on 18 November, and the last two on 25 November. Newcomers include Jamie Campbell Bower as Celeborn, Eddie Marsan as Thrain and Simon Pegg as the voice of the Balrog, alongside Charlie Vickers (Sauron), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Robert Aramayo (Elrond) and Daniel Weyman (Gandalf). Our full Season 3 trailer, cast and release schedule has the details.
In story order
- The Rings of Power (Second Age)
- The War of the Rohirrim
- An Unexpected Journey
- The Desolation of Smaug
- The Battle of the Five Armies
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
Which order to choose
Start with Fellowship. The films were made to be met in that sequence, and The Hobbit plays best as a return trip rather than a first visit. Story order earns its keep on a rewatch, when The War of the Rohirrim adds weight to Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers. The Rings of Power stands on its own. For other long-running franchises sorted the same way, see every Star Trek film in order and every Mad Max film in order.
What comes next
In May 2024 Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema announced two new Middle-earth features produced by Jackson, Walsh and Boyens. The first, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (working title), is directed by Andy Serkis, who also stars, from a screenplay by Walsh, Boyens, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. That announcement did not name the second film.
Where to watch
Subscription streaming rights to Jackson’s six films vary by market and change often, so check local listings before pressing play.
- The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies: digital rental and purchase, all markets; subscription streaming, check local listings in CA, US, UK, AU and NZ
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim: digital rental and purchase; Max (now HBO Max) streaming debut 28 February 2025; check local listings
- The Rings of Power, seasons one to three: Prime Video, CA, US, UK, AU, NZ; Season 3 from 11 November 2026
- The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum: theatres, date to be confirmed
Sources
- Middle-earth Enterprises: The history of Middle-earth
- Warner Bros.: The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy
- Warner Bros.: The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy
- Warner Bros.: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
- WBD press: The War of the Rohirrim begins streaming on Max, 21 Feb 2025
- WBD press: Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema reunite with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, 9 May 2024
- Amazon News: The Rings of Power Season 3 on Prime Video
- Amazon MGM Studios press: The Rings of Power Season 2
Before you go
