{"id":17378,"date":"2025-12-06T18:25:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T10:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=17378"},"modified":"2025-12-06T18:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T10:25:38","slug":"all-3-the-lord-of-the-rings-movies-are-returning-to-theaters-in-extended-edition-form-so-prepare-yourself-for-hours-and-hours-of-middle-earth-fun-all-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=17378","title":{"rendered":"All 3 The Lord of the Rings Movies Are Returning to Theaters in Extended Edition Form, So Prepare Yourself for Hours \u2014 and Hours \u2014 of Middle-Earth Fun All Over Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The Lord of the Rings movies are coming back to theaters next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring \u2014 but be prepared to strap yourself in for the long haul, as they\u2019re all the Extended Editions.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Fathom Entertainment will release all three Extended Editions from Peter Jackson\u2019s trilogy in DBOX presentation from January 16-18, then in standard formats from January 23-25, in theaters nationwide as part of a two-weekend event.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Jackson\u2019s The Lord of the Rings movies are long enough in standard form, but the Extended Editions are epics. The Return of the Kind Extended Edition, for example, is nearly four-and-a-half hours long including credits.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Perhaps wisely, Fathom is staggering the release of the movies across each weekend period, so you can\u2019t watch all three Extended Editions back-to-back. That might be for the best, since doing so would take you nearly 12 hours!<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-313219616\"><img alt=\"null\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image article-image article-image-full-size jsx-1809694635 jsx-2338608387\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><figcaption data-cy=\"caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490 jsx-479945570 article-image-caption\">Fathom will re-release The Lord of the Rings movies in a two-weekend event. Image credit: Fathom Entertainment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/output><\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"title2\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-3735650234\">The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition runtimes:<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>The Fellowship of the Ring: 3 hours and 48 minutes (228 minutes) <\/li>\n<li>The Two Towers: 3 hours and 55 minutes (235 minutes) <\/li>\n<li>The Return of the King: 4 hours and 23 minutes (263 minutes) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">There\u2019s merch, too, to go along with this re-release. AMC theaters will have a popcorn bucket with a map of Middle-earth, and Regal will have a popcorn bucket with a One Ring design, Variety reported.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\">\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The Lord of the Rings Movies in (Chronological) Order<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)&lt;\/h3&gt;&#10;The only potential confusion in the Lord of the Rings-Hobbit timeline comes from the fact that The Hobbit trilogy is set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, despite being released a decade later.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;Chronologically, the story kicks off with 2012\u2019s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which sees Martin Freeman take on the role of a younger Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm in the LotR trilogy). Gandalf \u2013\u00a0one of several characters whose stories run through both trilogies \u2014\u00a0recruits Bilbo to join Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Company to help reclaim the Dwarven kingdom beneath Erebor, aka The Lonely Mountain, that had been sacked by the dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bilbo encounters Gollum for the first time and comes into possession of the One Ring.\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2021719738 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Of course, Warner Bros., which is in the process of being acquired by Netflix, is gearing up to release a brand new The Lord of the Rings movie in 2027. The Hunt for Gollum is set to chronicle a period between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings where numerous characters are searching for the all-important Ring, previously known to be in Gollum&#8217;s possession.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Gandalf is known to be searching for clues as to Gollum&#8217;s whereabouts, and even enlists the help of Fellowship member Aragorn. Both are attempting to beat the agents of Sauron to discovering the Ring&#8217;s location \u2014 something glimpsed briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring, where the words &#8220;Baggins&#8221; and &#8220;Shire&#8221; are extracted from Gollum via torture in Mordor.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It has now been more than 20 years since audiences first saw the much-loved Fellowship characters sail off from the Grey Havens at the end of Return of the King. With Hunt for Gollum set several years prior to this, it remains to be seen whether some form of digital de-aging will be used as older actors reprise their roles. Indeed, Legolas actor <u>Orlando Bloom has previously expressed interest in also returning, though suggested &#8220;AI would have to come into play.&#8221;<\/u><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">To date, only Gollum actor Andy Serkis, who is directing The Hunt for Gollum, himself has confirmed he will appear in the film, though <u>Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen has said he is also open to returning<\/u>, and it very much sounds like Elijah Wood will reprise his role as Frodo. The Hunt for Gollum is due to begin filming in New Zealand next year, ahead of its release on December 17, 2027.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/all-3-the-lord-of-the-rings-movies-are-returning-to-theaters-in-extended-edition-form-so-prepare-yourself-for-hours-and-hours-of-middle-earth-fun-all-over-again\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lord of the Rings movies are coming back to theaters next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3192,1618,2030,198,1382,2033,11927,3345,1503,8168,2034,11847],"class_list":["post-17378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-edition","tag-extended","tag-form","tag-fun","tag-hours","tag-lord","tag-middleearth","tag-movies","tag-prepare","tag-returning","tag-rings","tag-theaters","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}