This weekend sees the discharge of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Amazon’s mega-sized collection is one in every of The Big TV Events of the Year, and it’s additionally a fantastic motive to revisit earlier entries in J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.

Believe it or not, it’s been practically a decade since Peter Jackson’s third and ultimate Hobbit film, The Battle of the Five Armies, was launched in theaters. It’s been a protracted await extra leisure set in that world, and it’s thrilling simply to have the ability to return (and Rings of Power shouldn’t be all; an anime is on the way in which).

There’s additionally quite a bit to atone for! While Rings of Power might happen 1000’s of years earlier than the flicks, it’s pure to wish to revisit the sooner editions of the franchise and brush up on a few of your Middle-earth information. So right here’s a information to watching the flicks, or a cheat sheet of key clips to look at earlier than the brand new present.

Lord of the Rings watch order

If you’re seeking to watch simply the Peter Jackson saga, you have got two choices. You can watch them in chronological order, narratively:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (watch on Prime Video and HBO Max)

Alternatively, you can watch them in launch order:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

If you’re a completionist, you can even throw within the animated films from the late Seventies and early Eighties. It doesn’t make a lot sense to place these within the chronological order, however they’d go first in launch order (clearly), beginning with 1977’s The Hobbit (obtainable for digital rental or buy on VOD platforms), transferring on to 1978’s The Lord of the Rings, after which going to 1980’s The Return of the King (not obtainable on-line; you’ll have to purchase a bodily copy).

But hey, that’s greater than 17 hours earlier than watching the present (or 22, if you happen to’re together with the animated films). Not everybody has that period of time! Here are some options if you happen to don’t wish to go that route.

If you desire a fast catch-up with out watching something

The Rings of Power shouldn’t be primarily based on any particular ebook, as a substitute constructing out Tolkien’s post-script Appendices.

The present is set within the Second Age (right here’s a map of what Middle-earth appears to be like like), following the struggle towards Morgoth. That’s lengthy, lengthy earlier than the occasions of the flicks, however there are nonetheless loads of memorable characters and locations that pop up in each.

Galadriel, performed by Cate Blanchett within the films, is a vital character within the collection. Polygon’s Susana Polo spoke to actor Morfydd Clark in regards to the elven queen and went deep on the lore of the character.

Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Isildur (Maxim Baldry), and Sauron (we actually have no idea) are the opposite characters from the flicks that we all know can be within the present, and followers of the books (or the video video games Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War) will certainly acknowledge Celebrimbor.

Harfoots, a kind of hobbit, can be within the present. The elves are a giant half, as are the dwarves and orcs.

If you wish to watch essentially the most related stuff

We’ve collected some related clips for you! Some need to do with returning characters, some with returning settings, some with comparable ~vibes~.

Galadriel’s introduction

The Moria sequence

When Galadriel banished Sauron (and known as him a servant of Morgoth)

The Siege of Barad-dûr

Saruman tells the story of the orcs to a newly born Uruk-hai

That time Legolas talked about Morgoth