Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has filmed new introductions for each movie in the trilogy, featuring reflections and anecdotes on filming.
Warner Bros. Pictures and re-release company Fathom Entertainment announced these introductions this week as an extra treat for fans headed to see the films during their upcoming theatrical re-release.
Entertainment Weekly has previewed the introductions and dubbed them as “lengthy” and “welcome.” In one excerpt shared online, Jackson discusses how the trilogy was filmed as one single giant project, with scenes from Fellowship of the Ring shot the same week as Return of the King. Later, the director tells the story of how he was forced to rethink the Fellowship’s memorable cave troll fight in Moria, after Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen came into work one Monday morning sporting an enormous black eye.
It’s a story Jackson has told before, but it’s a fun one — Mortensen had sustained the injury while “out with the Hobbits” — and apparently while surfing, his board had flipped up and caught him in the face. Watch the cave troll fight now and you’ll notice that Mortensen is only filmed from one side, while his black eye is hidden from view.
All three movies will be shown in their Extended Edition form this weekend, with one film per day from January 16-18. The shorter, standard editions will then be shown next weekend, from January 13-25.
There’s 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 has reported.
While promoting the trilogy’s re-release this week, Jackson confirmed he will never launch an “extended-extended” cut of the films, even though more material was shot and never released. “Are there great scenes that we never used? The answer is no,” Jackson said. “There are bits and pieces, I guess. But if you did an extended-extended cut, or whatever it will get called, it would be disappointing.” At more than four hours for The Return of the King’s Extended Edition, they’re probably long enough.
After the trilogy’s re-launch this month, fans can look forward to more from Middle-earth on the big screen with the upcoming The Lord of the Rings prequel The Hunt for Gollum, due for release next year on December 17, 2027. Frodo actor Elijah Wood — who looks likely to reprise his role on the project — previously praised the movie for reuniting Jackson Jackson with his Middle-earth scriptwriting team Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, as well as Gollum actor Andy Serkis, who is set to both star in and direct the film.
Image credit: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
