Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth Movies Get Gigantic 31-Disc Box Set
It’s only fitting that two of the biggest film series in history are getting maybe the most epic box set ever. Just in time for the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, all six of Peter Jackson’s J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies — are getting a new combined 31-disc box set.
No, that’s not a typo. It’s six movies on 31 discs. 31! (Plus digital codes!) You’re going to have to buy a new DVD shelf just to store this thing.
What’s being billed as the “Middle-Earth: Ultimate Collector’s Edition” set contains both the theatrical and extended versions of all six of the films on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. (All six films have also been remastered from the 4K master.) According to the press release, the extras included in the set include “the original Cannes Film Festival presentation reel, and footage from the recent Alamo Drafthouse cast reunion featuring director Peter Jackson along with cast members Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortenson, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood.”
The set comes packaged in a huge “puzzle box” that includes a 64-page booklet, art cards, posters, and more. You can see how the whole thing unfolds below:
There isn’t a hardcore Lord of the Rings fan alive that doesn’t already own all of these films, and likely on multiple home video formats. So it’s not like these films have been unavailable for the last 20 years. Still, the extensiveness of the package will probably prove tough to resist — provided you can scrounge up the $249.99 asking price. The set goes on sale on October 26.