With two new major releases coming later this year, 2024 will be the biggest year ever for The Lord of the Rings franchise. This year will see the release of new content on the small and big screens for LOTR fans to enjoy. It’s been 10 years since a new film in the franchise was released and over a year since fans have received new LOTR television content. Many are eager to return to Middle-earth and the rest of the beautiful, vast world created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his beloved book series of the same name.

Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait much longer. December 2024 will see the premiere of a new, animated LOTR movie. Before that, new LOTR television content is expected. Not only that but the new Lord of the Rings film is expected to break a box office milestone for the franchise. With these two major premieres, both coming in the same year, 2024 will be a remarkable year for the LOTR franchise.

Lord of the Rings Movies & Shows

Release Date
Rotten Tomatoes Score

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
December 19, 2001
91%

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
December 18, 2002


95%

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
December 17, 2003


94%

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
December 14, 2012
64%

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
December 13, 2013
75%

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
December 17, 2014
59%

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Season 1 – September 1, 2022 Season 2 – 2024
Season 1 – 83% Season 2 – TBD

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
December 13, 2024
TBD

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A man stands on a pile of bodies and weapons in The Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim Lord of the Rings_ War of the Rohirrim a character in armor wearing a helmet LOTR The War of the Rohirrim concept art of the battle Brian Cox and Miranda Otto in the Lord of the Rings_ War of the Rohirrim cast The logo for The Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim

Set to premiere on December 13, this year will see the release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim from director Kenji Kamiyama. The movie has many new things to offer the Lord of the Rings franchise, including the animation, as the anime style that hasn’t been seen in the franchise before.

The film will also be set in a new LOTR time period – around 2758 of the Third Age – never before seen on the big or small screens. The War of the Rohirrim‘s animation style will take inspiration from Peter Jackson’s beloved LOTR trilogy, meaning it has great potential to please devoted fans of the films.

The new Lord of the Rings movie is connected to Jackson’s trilogy by serving as a prequel about Helm Hammerhand, a King of Rohan, about 200 years before Frodo and Sam’s journey. Considering this, The War of the Rohirrim has great potential to be both a commercial and critical success, bringing something fresh that fans will likely be very interested in seeing. The last time a movie in the Lord of the Rings franchise was released was in 2014, which saw the premiere of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Although The Battle of the Five Armies was the least well-received film in The Hobbit trilogy, it was still a commercial success, grossing over $962 million worldwide. The Hobbit trilogy did receive criticism due to issues from its pacing to its diversion from canon to other problems, but the commercial success of the films showed there’s still a market for LOTR on the big screen, and that these movies can still succeed.

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Is Expected Before New LOTR Movie

The LOTR Prequel Series Is In Post-Production

Galadriel standing in armor in a battlefield in The Rings of Power Nori and her family smiling and embracing in The Rings of Power Bronwyn and Arondir looking at a broken sword in Lord of the Rings Rings Of Power Episode 6 Robert Aramayo as Elrond looking down and smiling in The Rings of Power. Charlie Vickers as Halbrand smiling in Mordor in The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 8

Although an official release date hasn’t been confirmed, the filming for the season wrapped in July 2023.

Not only will 2024 see the premiere of the first Lord of the Rings movie in 10 years, but it’ll also see the premiere of The Rings of Power season 2. As far as when Amazon’s The Rings of Power takes place, it’s set thousands of years before the LOTR trilogy and details the forging of the eponymous Rings. Although an official release date hasn’t been confirmed, the filming for the season wrapped in July 2023 (via The Economic Times). This means the season is currently in post-production and will likely be released before The War of the Rohirrim.

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Elrond and Galadriel smiling at each other in The Rings of Power

Never before has the LOTR franchise seen two major releases like this in the same year. Although The Rings of Power season 1 was given an underwhelming response from audiences, it received generally positive ratings from critics. Upon its premiere, The Rings of Power broke an Amazon streaming record at the time. It garnered 25 million worldwide viewers within its first 24 hours, becoming the platform’s most-watched premiere ever.

This indicates the potential for The Rings of Power to remain a commercially and critically successful project, making it one part of this year becoming massive for the Lord of the Rings franchise. Given the potential of The War of the Rohirrim to also be a hit, considering the new time period it will explore and the new anime style it’s bringing to the franchise, fans and critics alike have a lot to look forward to this year.