The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, drawing their titles and most of their plots from its three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of Jackson's WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast.

Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Company of the Ring set out to destroy the One Ring, an artifact of great magical power, and defeat its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Company eventually separates, and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal valet Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, other hobbits Merry and Pippin, and the wizard Gandalf, unite to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against the forces of Sauron.

The three films were shot simultaneously in Jackson's native New Zealand from 11 October 1999 until 22 December 2000, with pick-up shots from 2001 to 2003. It was one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with a budget of $281 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The first film in the series premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December 2001; the second film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on 5 December 2002; the third film premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington on 1 December 2003. An extended edition of each film was released on home video a year after its release in cinemas.

The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made. It was a major financial success and is among the highest-grossing film series of all time, having grossed over $2.9 billion worldwide. Its faithfulness to the source material has been a subject of discussion. The series received numerous accolades, winning 17 Academy Awards out of 30 total nominations, including Best Picture for The Return of the King. In 2021, the Library of Congress selected The Fellowship of the Ring for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Films

The Fellowship of the Ring

In the Third Age of Middle-Earth, lords of Elves, Dwarves, and Men receive Rings of Power. Sauron secretly forges the One Ring to dominate the other Rings. As Men and Elves battle Sauron, the prince Isildur cuts the Ring from Sauron's finger, breaking his power and ending the Second Age. Later, when Isildur is killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost for 2,500 years. Gollum finds and keeps it until the hobbit Bilbo Baggins steals it.

Sixty years later, Bilbo passes on the Ring to Frodo. The Wizard Gandalf warns Frodo to take it to safety. Frodo sets out with Sam, joining Merry and Pippin along the way. They evade pursuit by Sauron's nine Nazgûl servants, but Gandalf misses their rendezvous, having been captured by the evil Wizard Saruman. As the Ranger Strider guides them to Rivendell, the Nazgûl ambush them. Frodo receives a cursed wound from their leader, but is rescued by the elf Arwen. Gandalf escapes from Saruman's tower. Arwen's father Elrond holds a council, which decides the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, accompanied by eight others. Bilbo gives Frodo his sword Sting, and a mithril mail-shirt.

The company travels through the Mines of Moria. They are stalked by Gollum, who wants to reclaim the Ring, and attacked by Orcs, a troll, and a Balrog. Gandalf confronts the Balrog and is pulled into darkness as the others escape. The Fellowship reaches Lothlórien, where the Elf-queen Galadriel tells Frodo that he alone can complete the quest. Farther downriver, Boromir attempts to take the Ring and is killed by Orcs, who capture Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli go to rescue Merry and Pippin while Frodo and Sam travel towards Mordor.

The Two Towers

Lost in the hills near Mordor, Frodo and Sam confront their stalker Gollum and force him to guide them.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli enter the kingdom of Rohan, where they find that Merry and Pippin escaped into Fangorn Forest during a battle between their captors and the prince Éomer's horsemen. In Fangorn, they meet a resurrected Gandalf, who leads them to the capital of Edoras and frees the king, Théoden, from Saruman's magic.

Under threat by Saruman's army, Théoden leads his people to the fortress of Helm's Deep. In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin meet the Ent Treebeard. They show him Saruman's destruction of the forest, which convinces the enraged Ents to storm the wizard's base at Isengard and confine him in the tower.

Meanwhile at Helm's Deep, Aragorn's group helps the people of Rohan fight off a night attack. At dawn, Gandalf and Éomer arrive with reinforcements and destroy the Orc army, with the aid of the awoken trees of Fangorn Forest.

Gollum shows Frodo and Sam the well-defended Black Gate, but recommends another route. The trio are captured by Faramir's Rangers. Learning of the Ring, Faramir initially plans to take them to Gondor and bring it to his father, Denethor, but instead lets them go. Gollum decides to reclaim the Ring by leading Frodo and Sam to the giant spider Shelob so that she will eat them.

The Return of the King

Gandalf, Théoden and the others reunite with Merry and Pippin at Isengard, where Gandalf retrieves Saruman's palantír. Back at Edoras for a victory celebration, Pippin looks into the palantír, seeing Sauron and a burning tree. Gandalf deduces that the enemy plans to attack Gondor; he rides there with Pippin to warn its leader, Denethor. Pippin triggers the lighting of warning beacons to call Rohan for help.

Elrond gives Aragorn Andúril, reforged from the shards of Elendil's sword Narsil, and urges him to claim Elendil's throne in Gondor. Aragorn travels the Paths of the Dead, and pledges to release the ghosts there from their curse should they come to Gondor's aid.

Gollum convinces Frodo to send Sam away and leads him into Shelob's lair. Shelob paralyses and binds Frodo, but Sam returns and drives her off. Believing Frodo dead, Sam takes the Ring to complete the quest, but realizes his mistake when Orcs take Frodo captive. He rescues Frodo, and the two continue towards Mount Doom.

Denethor sends Faramir on a suicide charge, from which he returns gravely wounded. Denethor falls into madness, and as Orcs attack the city he attempts to burn himself and Faramir on a pyre, but Pippin and Gandalf rescue Faramir. Théoden leads his army to relieve Minas Tirith. He is mortally wounded by the Nazgûl leader, but his niece Éowyn and Merry kill the Nazgûl. Aragorn leads the Army of the Dead to defeat Sauron's forces, then releases them from their curse.

Aragorn marches on Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam's quest, drawing the enemy to confront him at the Black Gate. At Mount Doom, Gollum and Frodo fight for the Ring; Gollum momentarily wins by biting off Frodo's finger, but falls into the lava, destroying the Ring, Sauron, and Sauron's armies. Frodo and Sam are rescued by Eagles.

The Fellowship reunites in Gondor. Aragorn is crowned King and marries Arwen. The hobbits return home and Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Four years later, Frodo, still traumatised, leaves for the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the remaining Elves. He gives Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, detailing their adventures.

Cast and crew

Casting

Jackson began abstract discussions on casting during the development of the scripts with Miramax. Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens compiled a casting wishlist, which included Cate Blanchett for Galadriel and Ian Holm for Bilbo. Wondering whether Patrick Stewart would be right for the part of Gandalf, Philippa Boyens drew a tape of him performing opposite Ian McKellen, only to suggest the latter to Jackson. McKellen became Jackson's first choice for Gandalf. Christopher Lee sent Jackson a photograph of himself in a wizard's costume, wanting to play Gandalf.

Miramax wanted a recognisable name for Gandalf and suggested Max von Sydow or Paul Scofield and, wanting an American star, mentioned Morgan Freeman. When New Line took over, they suggested Christopher Plummer or Sean Connery for the part (both declined). When von Sydow inquired for the part later, his agent told him they were looking for an English actor.

While casting, Jackson looked for backup options for the various parts, including Lucy Lawless and Nicole Kidman for Galadriel; Anthony Hopkins or Sylvester McCoy (eventually cast as Radagast in The Hobbit trilogy) for Bilbo; Paul Scofield, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm McDowell, or Tim Curry for Saruman. For Gandalf, they looked into Tom Baker, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Neill, Bernard Hill (who was instead cast as Théoden), and Peter O'Toole.

Miramax and Jackson discussed Daniel Day-Lewis for Aragorn, starting "fanciful internet speculation" that Day-Lewis was approached for the part numerous times, although Jackson eventually inquired about him. Jackson cast Stuart Townsend, whom the studio deemed too young. After shooting began, Jackson agreed and decided to recast the role. They approached Viggo Mortensen, but also spoke to Russell Crowe (who auditioned for Boromir previously), as a backup choice.

Patrick McGoohan, their first choice for Denethor, proved "quite grumpy" when they met, and they instead looked into Donald Sutherland and John Rhys-Davies, and ultimately cast John Noble. Rhys-Davies was recast as Gimli, instead of Billy Connolly (later cast as Dáin in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies), Robert Trebor, and Timothy Spall. In conversations with Miramax, Liam Neeson's name came up for Boromir, but he declined. New Line suggested Nicolas Cage, but the filmmakers declined.

Cast

The following cast members voiced or portrayed characters in the extended version of the films.