The second season of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings-basedThe Rings of Poweris currently in production, following one of the most hotly anticipated series launched on any streaming platform. It’s also been billed as the most expensive TV series ever made.
The first season of The Rings of Power hitAmazon Prime Videoin September 2022, with the first season running for eight episodes in total. It focuses on events that occur thousands of years before the events shown in the two film trilogies. The series' second season is set to hit Prime Video sometime in 2024.
How to watch all the Marvel movies and TV shows in chronological order
The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 and is still going strong. Here’s the entire MCU timeline, shows and movies included.
But the question remains: which is the best order to watch the two existing Lord of the Rings trilogies? Of course, there is no right way, but there’s a way we think makes the most sense.
Best viewing order for Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
Depending on how patient and committed you are, you may want to seek out the extended editions. Each of the six movies is available as a much longer version than what was released in the theatres. All of which easily run over the 3-hour mark.
There are spoilers below.
1Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
One Ring to rule them all
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The first Lord of the Rings film sees Frodo entrusted with the Ring as Gandalf puts together a team to guide the Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it.
Most of the movie may be set in the time after The Hobbit trilogy, but The Fellowship of the Ring is a really good introduction to Middle-earth, Hobbits, Elves, the Shire and – more importantly – the history of The One Ring. What’s more, some of its narrative is key to understanding what happens in the Hobbit movies. Primarily because the Hobbit movies begin with an old Bilbo writing down his adventures with Frodo, and so an introduction to Frodo is important.
In this movie, Frodo and his company, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Merry (Meriadoc), Pippin (Peregrin) and Sam (Samwise) take possession of the Ring and begin their journey to Mordor, where they aim to throw the Ring in the fire of Mount Doom to destroy it—all the while being stalked and chased by Sauron’s terrifying Nazgul and Saruman’s army of Orc and Uruk-hai.
2The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Back to the beginning
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
The Hobbit sees Bilbo Baggins set out on an adventure to help a group of dwarves reclaim their home from a dragon.
Then we fork back to The Hobbit to fill in the Ring’s backstory. As mentioned, the story begins with Bilbo recounting his adventures to Frodo. We’re introduced to the time Bilbo gets railroaded into an adventure by the wizard Gandalf and a gang of dwarves looking to reclaim their lost city in the Lonely Mountain, which is full of treasure and currently home to the dragon Smaug. Bilbo first gets hold of the One Ring in this movie after a game of riddles with the creature Gollum. What is in his pockets?
3The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Bilbo and the dwarves continue the fight against the dragon known as Smaug.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Bilbo and the Dwarves continue their journey and finally come face to face with the dragon, Smaug.
Bilbo, the dwarves – led by Thorin – and Gandalf the Grey continue on their mission to reclaim the city. They’ve made it past the Misty Mountains and now need to take on Mirkwood Forest, which isn’t without peril, and they must do it without Gandalf. Once they get to the mountain, Bilbo - as the designated burglar - has to find the Secret Door and steal back the precious Arkenstone which the dwarves revere as being key to their power and taking back control of their city.
4The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Five armies descend on the gold left behind by Smaug.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Bilbo’s journey reaches its end as five different armies prepare to do battle over Smaug’s gold.
Bilbo and company are engaged in a war, the dragon has left the Lonely Mountain and the people of Lake-town are under threat. Orcs, dwarves, elves, people and even giant eagles prepare for war while Bilbo deals with a power-mad Thorin. Gandalf is also rescued from the Necromancer in this movie.
5The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Sam and Frodo welcome Gollum to the Fellowship.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
With The Hobbit complete, we return to Lord of the Rings with full knowledge of what came before. The company is split at the end of Fellowship (the first movie), and so Frodo and Sam continue on the mission to destroy the Ring without the rest of the company. On this journey, they meet Gollum (who you know from The Hobbit) properly for the first time, while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set off searching for Merry and Pippin, captured by orcs. They meet the people of Rohan, its besieged city and exiled riders. We’re introduced to Ents – tree shepherds who take a long time to say anything – and Faramir, Boromir’s brother.
6The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The final battle for Middle-Earth
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
The rest of the Fellowship tries to hang on against Sauron’s armies, while Frodo and Sam attempt to reach Mount Doom and finally destroy the Ring.
Sam and Frodo’s perilous journey almost ends prematurely thanks to some sneaky work from Gollum, but no matter the obstacles in their way, they have to get the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The rest of the company – now joined by the might of Rohan – is engaged in war with the dark forces of Middle-earth to save Gondor, while its power-mad steward seems intent on tearing it down from within.
Upcoming Marvel movies: Every new MCU film and TV show in the works
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s next for the MCU, including every movie and TV show, their expected release date, cast info, and more.
Spoiler-free version: Lord of the Rings movies in order
Here’s the above order in a spoiler-free list.
Chronological timeline
While some of the scenes in Fellowship of the Ring occur in the years before the first Hobbit movie, most of it is set well after the events of the Hobbit trilogy. The original trilogy is set after Bilbo’s 111th (or eleventy-first) birthday. The Hobbit trilogy takes place when Bilbo is much younger.
Theatrical (release date) movie order
Of course, you could just watch them in the order they were released. That way, you’re watching them in the order anyone would have watched them had they seen them on their opening nights. There’s nothing especially wrong with it, but if you do, you’re ending with arguably the weakest of the six movies.
What about the animated movies?
Two animated movies were produced way before the big-budget Peter Jackson epics. The Hobbit (1977), Lord of the Rings (1978) and The Return of the King (1980) were all based on the Tolkien novels and are classic animated stories, but let’s just say they haven’t aged all that well. There have also been several short movies and even some Lego shorts to coincide with the Lego console/PC games.
The Lord of the Rings 1978 Animated Movie - (Streaming, DVD)Best BuyAmazon
Where does the Amazon TV series fit into the timeline?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history for the very first time. Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power will explore a time in the franchise where kingdoms rose and fell, where The One Ring itself was forged and tells the tale of the rise of the greatest foe in the Lord of the Rings Franchise, the Dark Lord Sauron. Beginning in a time of peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of familiar and new characters as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil in Middle-earth. From the depths of the Misty Mountains to the forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, The Rings of Power promises to condense the extended works of Tolkien in a condensed but all-encompassing TV show format. The first season of The Rings of Power began airing exclusively on Prime Video on August 26, 2025
The Lord of the Rings TV series is based in the Second Age of Middle-earth, placing it thousands of years before the events set out in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So don’t expect to see much of Frodo or Bilbo in the production. This is how Amazon Studios describes it:
“Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of familiar and new characters as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”
It premiered on Amazon Prime Video in September 2022, and a second season has already been ordered. There are hopes it will premiere sometime in 2024. The initial deal for the series included a five-season commitment so that we could see this as a recurring series for a good few years.
Bonus content: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit games
Of course, there’s plenty more Lord of the Rings action other than just in the main theatrical releases. You’ll find a lot of games for consoles and PCs, including – but not limited to – the following:
