How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and shows in order (release date and chronological)

Learning how to watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in order, as well as the Lord of the Rings TV shows, is getting trickier with every new release. As new seasons of The Rings of Power land on Prime Video and the new movie The Hunt for Gollum heads to cinemas, The Lord of the Rings timeline is growing every year (for better or for worse).

J.R.R. Tolkien's epic works provided an immense amount of information about their history and mythology. He is the father of fantasy for a reason, and Peter Jackson's first trilogy is truly just the tip of the iceberg. While the quality of Lord of the Rings projects has failed to reach the level of greatness of the 2000s movies detailing Frodo's journey to Mordor, the future is looking bright. There are upcoming movies on the horizon, and The Rings of Power season 3 has also been renewed. And while I'm not a fan of Amazon's series personally, it does spark hope for non-Third Age projects in the future.

So, ahead of this franchise's exciting future, we're here to make sure you are all caught up on your Middle-earth lore. Below, we've gathered all the different Tolkien's iconic universe on both the small and big screen. You'll find release date orders, which include new outings such as 2024's The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim animated movie, as well as chronological guides that also make comments on canon issues (looking at you, Rings of Power). Finally, you'll also find information on where you can watch everything yourself!

The Lord of the Rings movies and shows in release order

• 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 season 1 (2022)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 (2024)
• The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

There are two main ways to navigate your journey into Middle-earth: in release order, or in chronological order. Here's your guide to the former, which is how most people familiar with the world already will have watched them.

We've got to admit this is probably the most satisfying way to tackle the saga, as it's the way it was intended to be watched. And you won't miss much, as you don’t get a huge amount of context that you’ll need later on from the prequels; they just add more to it once you’ve seen it.

The Lord of the Rings movies and shows in chronological order

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 (2022)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 (2024)
• The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
• 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)

The other major way to get your head around The Lord of the Rings saga is to tackle it in the order of events. That means starting with The Rings of Power, which is set thousands of years before the movies in the Second Age of Middle-earth and tells the origins of characters like Galadriel and Sauron.

However, for all you Tolkien purists, be warned that The Rings of Power doesn't stick to Tolkien's canon. In fact, in its current state, it breaks canon and will likely cause some outrage. The prequel series implies that Celeborn isn't alive (despite his appearing in The Fellowship years after the Rings of Power and therefore also implying that his granddaughter Arwen won't be born either). So keep that in mind if you include it in your marathon. If you do choose to watch it, I suggest enjoying it as a completely separate piece of work from the timeline, which is more inspired by Tolkien than an actual adaptation of his work.

Then, going back to the movies, there's a very big jump ahead as we enter the Third Age with The War of the Rohirrim. This animated film is set roughly 250 years before the events of the Hobbit films and follows the reign of the Rohan King Helm Hammerhand. Watching this will give you some backstory details for Helm's Deep, which is pretty neat.

Otherwise, the next films in the timeline are The Hobbit films, which take place around 60 years before The Lord of the Rings Movies. Watching it in this order will mean you have a lot more context for some of the big events and main characters by the time you reach The Fellowship of the Ring. So, if you're a viewer who likes to know the whole picture first, then this might be the way for you to tackle it.

Where to watch the Lord of the Rings movies in order

Unfortunately, not all of The Lord of the Rings movies and shows are available in one place. So you'll have to do a bit of streaming platform hopping to be able to stay on top of your watching saga.

Luckily, most are on the same platform. All of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies are available to watch on HBO's streaming platform, HBO Max, in the US. Meanwhile, if you're in the UK, you'll need to have NOW TV in order to stream them – and The War of the Rohirrim is available to rent on Apple TV. The Rings of Power is only available on Amazon Prime Video, so you'll need a subscription to that streaming service to be able to watch it (however, since the series breaks canon, it's not necessary viewing if you're looking for something to skip).

If you want to keep it all in one place, you can buy the movies on Amazon as well, so you don't have to keep switching apps.

New Lord of the Rings movies and shows

There has been talk of a few new Lord of the Rings movies. However, we know for sure that we are at least getting one with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to be released in December 2027 and will be directed by Peter Jackson. Andy Serkis will also be returning to reprise his role as Gollum.

If you didn't know already, The Hunt for Gollum appeared in The Lord of the Rings appendices and was mentioned throughout The Fellowship of the Ring. The events of the Hunt for Gollum aren't a lengthy affair, though. In fact, it takes place around the time between Bilbo's birthday party and the start of Frodo's adventure, where he is told to leave the Shire. That's a quick timeframe to work with, so we'll likely see Jackson make changes or additions here or there, like he did with The Hobbit (turning the short story into three films). Whether longtime Tolkien fans embrace those hypothetical story decisions is to be seen.

Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO, David Zaslav, stated in 2023 that there are plans for multiple new movies set in Tolkien’s universe. So, The Hunt for Gollum is likely the first in a string of new Lord of the Rings films to be announced. If they are announced, Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens has hinted that Gandalf will be a major focus going forward. Stay tuned for updates!

For more on Middle-earth, we've got a guide to the best Lord of the Rings games for you to play right now. Or you can check out our Rings of Power season 2 review if you fancy hearing about Amazon Prime's latest Tolkien outing.