Peter Jackson reveals his favorite movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it's not the one you're probably expecting

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — (Image credit: New Line Cinema)

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has revealed his favorite movie in the trilogy – although he hasn't rewatched any of them since he made them.

"I can’t watch my own films. I mean, one day… I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again," he told Letterboxd. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a favorite. "The Two Towers, I think. But if I see them again I might have a totally different one."

The Return of the King, the final installment in the original trilogy, is the most common answer to that question, so Jackson is somewhat bucking the trend with The Two Towers. The second movie, released in 2002, continues the story of The Fellowship of the Ring as Frodo, Sam, and Gollum make their way towards Mordor, Merry and Pippin help plan an attack on Saruman's fortress at Isengard, and Aragorn and co. are reunited with Gandalf.

The latest big-screen installment in the franchise, which saw Jackson on board as an executive producer, was The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which hit theaters in December 2024. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, the anime movie follows the king of Rohan and his family as they defend their kingdom against a Dunlending army and features an English-language voice cast including Brian Cox, Luke Pasqualino, and Miranda Otto.

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.