Should I watch Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit first?

From 2001 through 2003, director Peter Jackson put out The Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies, based on the beloved books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Then, between 2012 and 2014, he put out another trilogy of movies set in Middle-earth: The Hobbit trilogy, based on Tolkien’s book.

The Hobbit, which was originally published in 1937, was published before The Lord of the Rings, which came out in 1954 and 55. The Hobbit is also set before The Lord of the Rings chronologically. The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who goes on a journey into the east, picking up a mysterious ring along the way. The Lord of the Rings picks up many years later with Bilbo’s much younger cousin and heir Frodo Baggins, who goes on his own journey. And Bilbo’s ring ends up being far more important than he first thought.

So if The Hobbit is set before The Lord of the Rings, you should watch The Hobbit trilogy first, right? If you want to experience the story chronologically, that would be the way to go. However, there’s more to it than that.

Should I watch The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings first?

Although The Hobbit is set before The Lord of the Rings, I’d argue that it’s better to watch The Lord of the Rings movies first. The Hobbit movies have a sizable framing story involving Frodo Baggins, which doesn’t make sense unless you already know who he is from The Lord of the Rings.

Also, there’s the widely held opinion that The Hobbit movies just aren’t as good as The Lord of the Rings movies. With The Lord of the Rings, Jackson had three books to draw from. Three books, three movies; makes sense. But The Hobbit is only one book, and it’s shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings books. He has to stretch things out to turn The Hobbit into a trilogy, and those movies feel stretched out.

The Lord of the Rings movies are the main course, and The Hobbit is a side dish you didn’t really touch but you can eat if you force yourself. If I’m being completely honest, my recommendation would be to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and then to skip The Hobbit trilogy. Read the book instead. But if you want to watch all six films, know that there’s really no right order in which to view them. It depends on how you want to experience the story.

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