Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most iconic trilogies in cinema history. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels of the same name, the fantasy trilogy grossed almost $3 billion at the box office against a budget of $281 million. It started with the first film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which debuted in December 2001, while the third film came out two years later in December 2003.
According to Collider, the final film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, will head back to theaters on April 13 in honor of its 20th anniversary. While the original film had a runtime of 201 minutes, it is the extended edition with a runtime of 260 minutes that will be re-released in theaters.
The Return of the Ring’s extended edition, originally released on DVD a year after its theatrical debut, features a ton of new footage that wasn't present in the original film. As a result, it will tell a more detailed story than the original.
At the moment, Cinemark and Regal are the two theater chains confirmed to show the film but other theater chains could join. Given the film’s popularity, there will likely be a lot of demand for tickets when they eventually go on sale.
By the way, Cinemark goers will also be able to watch an introduction from Elijah Wood, one of the film’s protagonists.
Like its predecessors, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King starred an ensemble cast of Hollywood’s finest actors, including Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Astin, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Monaghan, and many others. The film was directed by Peter Jackson based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
The Return of the King was a commercial success. With a gross of $1.1 billion, it was also the second highest-grossing film of all time at that time, behind only Titanic. Apart from its commercial success, The Return of the Kings was also well-received by critics most of whom praised its direction, visual effects, story, and screenplay. The threequel went on to win 11 Oscar awards, the most awards in a single night, at the 76th Academy Awards that held in 2004 becoming only the third film, behind Titanic and Ben-Hur, to achieve that feat.
In other news, recent reports claim that Warner Bros. Discovery wants to create a The Lord of the Rings Universe similar to what Disney is doing with Star Wars. These reports followed David Zaslav’s, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, announcement of a partnership with Embracer Group, which owns the rights to the franchise, to develop new films set within Middle Earth.
Also, the highly anticipated action-adventure video game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, will reportedly launch sometime between April and September following multiple delays. The title is one of five games set in The Lord of the Rings universe that Embracer Group will release between now and 2024.
