The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 4K Steelbook Edition released this week alongside a reprint of Fellowship of the Ring’s matching edition. Fellowship was a Walmart exclusive when it first launched earlier this year, and it had appeared like The Two Towers would continue that trend. But that turned out not to be the case, and now both collectible editions are up for grabs for $28 each at Amazon and Walmart. We wouldn’t be surprised to see both movies sell out soon at Amazon, especially since there’s a 20% discount at the moment.
These standalone releases cost considerably less than the previously released LOTR Trilogy Steelbook Collection. But to be clear, the steelbook designs and artwork are pulled from that box set, so there’s really no need to buy these if you already own the collection. But for fans who don’t have the box set, now’s your chance to get two LOTR 4K Blu-rays with gorgeous steelbook cases (and digital copies) for $56 total.
$28 (was $35) | Available Now
The Fellowship of the Ring’s standalone Steelbook Edition originally released on January 7 as a Walmart exclusive. The retailer sold out of copies multiple times in the weeks before and after launch, so it’s nice that fans who missed out can still buy it alongside The Two Towers.
Unlike The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K Blu-ray sets, the standalone release of Fellowship of the Ring also includes the digital version of the first film in the trilogy.
You’ll get the theatrical and extended versions of the movie in both formats. If you haven’t watched the extended editions–all three films have one–they are definitely worth the time investment.
The extended cut adds 30 minutes to the overall runtime and is spread across two discs.
- Theatrical Edition (Disc 1) – 178 minutes (2 hours and 58 minutes)
- Extended Edition (Discs 2-3) – 208 minutes (3 hours and 28 minutes)
$28 (was $35) | Available Now
Once again, The Two Towers Limited Edition Steelbook is the same as the one that comes with the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Steelbook Box Set. But just like with The Fellowship of the Ring, you’ll get 4K Blu-ray and digital versions of The Two Towers.
The 4K Steelbook Edition comes with the theatrical and extended cuts of The Two Towers on three discs. The extended cut adds 44 minutes to the film and is split across two discs.
- Theatrical Edition – 179 minutes (2 hours and 59 minutes)
- Extended Edition – 223 minutes (3 hours and 43 minutes)
It seems like only a matter of time before The Return of the King gets a standalone release in Limited Edition Steelbook format.
If you haven’t watched The Lord of the Rings on 4K Blu-ray, all three films (and The Hobbit Trilogy) look and sound beautiful. Along with upscaled 4K visuals, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King support Dolby Vision and HDR10 on compatible displays. The audio experience can be enhanced with Dolby Atmos or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound.
These are the only standalone 4K Blu-ray editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in North America. Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations are almost exclusively printed as trilogy box sets on 4K Blu-ray and/or Blu-ray.
Although the new Steelbook Editions offer a budget-friendly way to get collectible versions of Peter Jackson’s excellent adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic, there are still cheaper ways to buy the films on 4K. Here’s a quick look at 4K Blu-ray releases of Jackson’s six Middle-earth movies. You can also get the recently released Lord of the Rings anime on 4K Blu-ray for $20 at Walmart.
Peter Jackson’s Tolkien Adaptations in 4K
You can take a closer look at The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Steelbook Trilogy Collections below.
$180
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Steelbook Box Set received a reprint in March, but it’s no longer available directly from major retailers. That said, you can buy it from third-party resellers for right around retail price.
Compared to the standalone releases, the box set generally feels a pricey these days, especially since you miss out on digital versions of the film. It does, however, come with a nice steelbook slipcase for all three films.
That said, if The Return of the King gets a standalone Limited Edition Steelbook release, you’ll probably be able to snag steelbooks for all three films for under $100.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy’s standard 4K Blu-ray box set is available for $67.80 at Amazon–more than $100 cheaper than this steelbook set.
$170
Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy also has a Limited Edition Steelbook box set. Unsurprisingly, The Hobbit Trilogy has never been as popular as LOTR, so this one typically isn’t as difficult to find in stock for around retail price. But if you want to get steelbook editions of all six of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films, you can grab this box set for $170 from Amazon.
It’s unclear if The Hobbit films will ever receive standalone steelbook releases. For now, the only way to get a 4K edition of any of the three Hobbit films with a steelbook case is to pick up the box set.
Like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Steelbook, this set only comes with 4K Blu-ray editions of each film, but you will get the theatrical and extended cuts of each.
It is worth emphasizing that The Hobbit Trilogy’s standard 4K Blu-ray box set is substantially cheaper than this set. Right now, you can get The Hobbit Trilogy for $43 at Amazon.
The Lord of the Rings Collectible Books & Box Sets
Lord of the Rings fans who are interested in adding collectible editions of Tolkien’s original novels to their shelves can save big on arguably the best-looking edition of The Lord of the Rings at Amazon. The Lord of the Rings: Deluxe Illustrated Edition is on sale for $146 at Amazon, which is the best price we’ve seen and a savings of $179.
Published last October with a staggering $325 price tag, this expanded edition of the beloved 1992 three-volume collection includes stunning hardcover editions of each part of LOTR accompanied by dozens of drawings and paintings by Alan Lee. More than 50 of the illustrations are new to the remastered edition.
Quarterbound leather and cloth board bindings make these editions feel and look quite beautiful. The covers have original artwork by Lee in the center, and all of the symbols and lettering on the front and spines are foil-stamped in silver. Each book has sprayed top and bottom edges as well as illustrated side edges. Those illustrations match Lee’s Mount Doom artwork found on the interior walls of the custom-designed cloth board slipcase. This handsome box set also comes with three art cards and two foldout maps created by Christopher Tolkien.
Alternatively, the more budget-friendly Lord of the Rings Collector’s Edition Hardcover Box Set is on sale for $49.45 at Amazon. All three volumes of The Lord of the Rings have foil-stamped cover art, stained edges, ribbon bookmarks, and maps on the inside of these elegantly bound hardcovers. You can also save big on each of the three volumes on their own as well as matching Collector’s Editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.
Fans can also get substantial discounts on the 2024 History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Sets. With 15 books in total–including The Silmarillion–these four gorgeous collections compile the entirety of Tolkien’s legendarium, which the author’s son, Christopher Tolkien, edited and expanded to create the lengthy series now known as The History of Middle-earth.
William Morrow is continuing this box set project in June with Tolkien Myths and Legends, a four-book box set featuring two Tolkien works inspired by English literature and two books that Tolkien personally translated. In August, the sixth collection in the series, The Great Tales of Middle-earth, will be published. This set comes with Tolkien’s final three posthumously published Middle-earth novels: The Children of Húrin (2007), Beren and Lúthien (2017), and The Fall of Gondolin (2018).
