Not every Middle-earth adaptation belongs to Peter Jackson's film continuity. This timeline gathers the series, films, games and stage works that tell their own version of Tolkien's world, placed by the in-universe date of their story.
For the Jackson films, see the movie timeline. For all the games together, see the Lord of the Rings games in order.
Second Age
Released September 2022 - Present
Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history.
Third Age
Released November 2006
Long before the War of the Ring, the Witch-king raises the realm of Angmar and sets out to destroy the divided kingdom of Arnor.
Third Age, 2941
Released June 1967
Gandalf and Princess Mika ask Bilbo Baggins to help them against the dragon Slag, in a very free retelling made only to keep the film rights.
Third Age, 2941
Released November 1977
Bilbo Baggins, a comfortable hobbit, is hired by Gandalf as a burglar for thirteen dwarves who want to win back their treasure from the dragon Smaug.
Third Age, 2941
Released January 1985
A professor tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who left home with Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to face the dragon Smaug.
Third Age
Released September 2014
In the dark era of Sauron's return to Mordor, ranger Talion, bound with the wraith of Celebrimbor, seeks vengeance against the Dark Lord’s forces.
Third Age
Released October 2017
Talion and Celebrimbor forge a new Ring of Power to unite allies and confront the resurgence of Sauron’s dark influence across Middle-earth.
Third Age
Released July 2025
Live the cosy life of a Hobbit in the wonderfully serene landscape of the Shire. Discover, decorate, and share in this idyllic corner of Middle-earth.
Third Age, 3012 - 3018
Released May 2023
In 500 years, he has experienced things that would break even the toughest beings. But Gollum doesn’t break, he twists, he adapts…
Third Age
Released March 2006 - Present
The Lord of the Rings musical (2006) adapts Tolkien's epic, combining song, dance, and visual effects to tell the story of Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat Sauron.
Third Age
Released November 1978
The 1978 animated The Lord of the Rings follows Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released April 2007
In Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings Online sees heroes battling Sauron's forces and exploring hidden lore during the War of the Ring.
Third Age, 3018
Released December 1971
Bilbo leaves the Shire, Frodo inherits the Ring and flees with his friends to Rivendell, in a short Swedish children's film set to the music of Bo Hansson.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released April 1991 - April 1991
Frodo leaves the Shire with the Ring and sets out with the Fellowship, in a low-budget Soviet television play shown once in 1991 and rediscovered thirty years later.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released March 1993 - May 1993
An old Sam tells young hobbits the story of the Ring, from Bilbo's adventure to Frodo and Sam's long road to Mount Doom.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2003
The War of the Ring is fought on every front, from the Iron Hills to Osgiliath, as the free peoples of Middle-earth face the armies of Sauron.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2011
While the Fellowship carries the Ring south, a Ranger, a Dwarf and an Elf fight Sauron's forces in the north to stop his lieutenant Agandaûr.
Third Age, 3019
Released February 2006
While the Fellowship heads south, war comes to the north of Middle-earth, where Elves and Dwarves stand against the goblins and the armies of Sauron.
Third Age
Released May 1980
The 1980 animated The Return of the King follows Frodo and Aragorn's final battle against Sauron as the One Ring is destroyed, concluding the War of the Ring.
Fourth Age
Released October 2023
Return to Moria follows the Dwarves as they embark on a new adventure to reclaim their legendary home of Moria beneath the Misty Mountains.
No. The Rings of Power is an Amazon production with its own cast and designs. It adapts events of the Second Age, thousands of years before The Hobbit.
Prime Video has scheduled season 3 for 11 November 2026. It is set five years after the end of season 2.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Shadow of War are set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. They tell an original story about the ranger Talion and do not follow Tolkien's books closely.
No. Ralph Bakshi's 1978 film covers The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers, ending after the battle of Helm's Deep. The planned second part was never made.
