The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 film created by Peter Jackson, directed by Peter Jackson. It stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and others.
Synopsis
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It closes the trilogy that began with The Fellowship of the Ring, and picks up while the war over Middle-earth is reaching its peak.
The story runs along two tracks. Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Wood, still carries the One Ring and heads toward the volcanic land of Mordor with his loyal friend Samwise Gamgee, played by Sean Astin. Their guide is Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, a creature whose long obsession with the Ring makes him an uneasy companion on a road where every step brings more danger.
Elsewhere, Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, and Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, work to rally the free peoples against Sauron's growing armies. The city of Minas Tirith in Gondor is the next target, and time to prepare is short. Liv Tyler appears as Arwen, whose fate is bound up with Aragorn's choices about his heritage.
Crew & production
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Screenwriters
- Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens
- Producers
- Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
- Director of photography
- Andrew Lesnie
- Composer
- Howard Shore
- Editor
- Jamie Selkirk
- Production companies
- New Line Cinema, WingNut Films
- Original languages
- English, Old English, Quenya, Sindarin
- Filming locations
- New Zealand
- Budget
- $94 million
- Box office
- $1.14 billion (worldwide)
Trailer
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Top cast
40 people
Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Andy Serkis
Viggo Mortensen
Liv Tyler
Sean Astin
Cate Blanchett
Christopher Lee
Hugo Weaving
Dominic Monaghan
Billy Boyd
John Rhys-Davies
More cast
- Orlando Bloom Legolas, Legolas Greenleaf
- David Wenham Faramir
- Bernard Hill Théoden
- Miranda Otto Éowyn
- John Noble Denethor
- Brad Dourif Gríma Wormtongue
- Karl Urban Éomer
- Sean Bean Boromir
- Ian Holm Bilbo Baggins
- Bruce Hopkins
- Stephen Ure
- Lawrence Makoare Witch-king of Angmar, Witch-King
- Sarah McLeod
- Paul Norell
- Bruce Phillips
- Joel Tobeck
- Bret McKenzie
- Peter Jackson
- Bruce Spence Mouth of Sauron, The Mouth of Sauron
- Thomas Robins Déagol Nahald
- Marton Csokas Celeborn the Wise
- Sala Baker
- Alan Howard
- John Bach
- Shane Rangi
- Harry Sinclair
- Ian Hughes
- Andrew Lesnie
Sources
- Wikidata (Q131074), accessed October 2026
- Cast photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each profile
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