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Poster for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Third Age · Third Age, 3019

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The war reaches Gondor

Runtime3h21Where to watchTBCIn your marathonnot seen yet
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Do you need to watch it before The Hunt for Gollum?

Yes. It's in the Main story, the list of only what moves the plot forward to The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

Where it falls in the order

  • Main story6 of 7
  • Chronological11 of 11
  • Everything11 of 14

Post-credits scenes

No post-credits scenes. You can stop when the credits roll.

Spoilers for this title

Quick recap

Gollum turns Frodo against Sam, leading him into Shelob's lair. Sam saves Frodo from the orcs and they press on to Mount Doom. Pippin looks into the palantír, and Gandalf takes him to Minas Tirith, where Denethor loses his mind. The beacons are lit, and Rohan rides to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Éowyn and Merry bring down the Witch-king. Aragorn brings the Army of the Dead, then marches on the Black Gate to distract Sauron. At the Cracks of Doom, Frodo can't let go of the Ring; Gollum bites off his finger and falls into the lava with it. Sauron is destroyed, eagles rescue the hobbits and Aragorn is crowned king. Years later, Frodo sails from the Grey Havens with Bilbo and Gandalf.

No spoilersOpens once you mark the title as seen.
4 easter eggs

Hidden details

  1. CameoJackson on the Corsair ship

    Peter Jackson appears on the Corsair ship. In the Extended Edition, he shares the scene with cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and other crew members. Sam's hand in the Shelob scene is his, too.

    source ↗
  2. CameoHoward Shore at the Edoras feast

    In the Extended Edition, composer Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras.

    source ↗
  3. Behind the scenesEleven nominations, eleven Oscars

    The film won all 11 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture. That tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most ever.

    source ↗
  4. ReferenceThe chapter that got cut

    The book has a chapter where the hobbits return and free the Shire. The writers found it anticlimactic and cut it. Saruman's final scene is only in the Extended Edition.

    source ↗
No spoilersThe easter eggs give away parts of the title. They open once you mark it as seen.

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