22 Years Ago, The Lord of the Rings’ Best Movie Was Released (And Got All the Glory It Deserved)

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As a huge movie fan, I still can’t believe New Line Cinema actually let Peter Jackson direct The Lord of the Rings! At the time, it felt like an incredibly risky move, honestly. He was famous for really over-the-top, low-budget horror comedies like Bad Taste and Braindead – not exactly the resume you’d expect for a huge fantasy epic. Plus, Tolkien’s books were considered almost untouchable. Everyone thought they were way too complex and detailed to ever work on film, and fans were fiercely protective of the story. To make things even crazier, the studio decided to film all three movies at the same time! That meant if the first one flopped, they were stuck with two more expensive sequels that nobody would want to see. It was a huge gamble!

Even with huge challenges in bringing such a complex story to the screen, The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains the gold standard for fantasy movies. Today, December 17th, marks the release of The Return of the King, the film that concluded the epic trilogy with massive success at the box office and widespread critical acclaim. Viewers who had been following Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) were rewarded with an ending that captured the heart of the original story and offered breathtaking visuals.

As a huge movie fan, I was absolutely blown away by the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The visual effects were massive, unlike anything I’d seen before, but what really impressed me was that they didn’t distract from the emotional connections between the characters. Peter Jackson really pulled it off! He took all the complicated threads of Tolkien’s story and brought them together in a finale that both longtime fans of the books and people just seeing the movies could enjoy. While the first two Lord of the Rings films did great, the third one completely changed what was possible in fantasy movies – it really broke all the boundaries.

Return of the King Oscar Sweep Gave Fantasy a Serious Status in Hollywood

Before The Lord of the Rings came out, Hollywood generally considered fantasy movies to be low-budget and only appealing to kids or a small group of dedicated fans. These films often suffered from cheesy acting and weren’t taken seriously as art. This bias was clear at the Academy Awards, where fantasy movies usually only won awards for technical aspects like special effects, while more prestigious awards went to historical dramas or biographical films. The common belief was that a movie with wizards, elves, and magic couldn’t be deep or meaningful enough to be a serious contender for Best Picture.

At the 76th Academy Awards, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King shattered the idea that fantasy films couldn’t be considered serious art. The movie won all eleven awards it was up for, including Best Director for Peter Jackson and Best Picture. This tied the record previously held by Ben-Hur and Titanic, elevating fantasy to the same level as classic, highly-regarded films. The win proved that the genre could tell powerful, moving stories about themes like war, healing, and friendship, and demonstrated that a story’s setting shouldn’t determine its value as art.

The success of The Return of the King at the Oscars had a significant impact on television. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy demonstrated that audiences would embrace intricate stories with strong characters and impressive visuals. This realization was key to HBO’s decision to create Game of Thrones less than ten years later. Executives understood that a fantasy series with dragons and mythical creatures could be presented as high-quality drama, not just genre entertainment. Without the groundwork laid by The Return of the King, Game of Thrones might not have received the funding or the serious consideration it needed to become a worldwide success.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is currently streaming on Max.

What do you think—is The Return of the King the strongest film of the three, or do you like one of the others better? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-12-17 17:15