Key Takeaways

  • The recommended viewing order for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films begins with The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001) to introduce Middle-earth and key concepts, followed by The Hobbit trilogy for the backstory.
  • After The Hobbit trilogy, the sequence continues with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), completing the story with full context from the prequels.
  • Alternate viewing orders include the chronological timeline, starting with The Hobbit trilogy and then the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the theatrical release order, beginning with the Lord of the Rings trilogy followed by The Hobbit films.

The second season of Amazon's Lord of the Rings-based The Rings of Power is 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 hit Amazon Prime Video in 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.

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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.

1 Lord 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.

Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Starring
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Run Time
178 minutes

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.

2 The 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.

Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Starring
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
Run Time
169 minutes

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?

3 The 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.

Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Starring
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
Run Time
161 minutes

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.

4 The 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.

Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Starring
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
Run Time
144 minutes

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.

5 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Sam and Frodo welcome Gollum to the Fellowship.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Starring
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Run Time
179 minutes

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.

6 The 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.

Director
Peter Jackson
Writers
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Starring
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Run Time
201 minutes

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.

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Spoiler-free version: Lord of the Rings movies in order

Here's the above order in a spoiler-free list.

  1. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
  3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
  4. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  6. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

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.

  1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
  2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
  3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
  4. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  6. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

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.

  1. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
  4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
  5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
  6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

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 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:

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002)
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  3. The Hobbit (2003)
  4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  5. The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring (2003)
  6. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (2004)
  7. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004)
  8. The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (2005)
  9. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006)
  10. The Lord of the Rings Online (2007)
  11. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009)
  12. The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (2010)
  13. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011)
  14. Lego The Lord of the Rings (2012)
  15. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
  16. Lego The Hobbit (2014)
  17. Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017)