After two decades, Elijah Wood reveals his favorite of the Lord of the Rings movies. Wood starred as the ring-bearing Hobbit Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's acclaimed adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Though they were filmed all at once, the three movies released in successive years from 2001-2003.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains one of the most successful film series ever made, and choosing a favorite between them is a difficult task. The Fellowship of the Ring spends the most time in the Shire and features the Mines of Moria sequence, and Gandalf yelling "you shall not pass" is a moment that has endured in popular culture. Some argue The Two Towers suffers a bit from being the middle child, but no film that has both the Gap of Rohan and the Ents can be so easily dismissed. And The Return of the King is as epic a conclusion as they come, holding the record for most Academy Awards won by a single film with 11.

Related: What Has Elijah Wood Done Since Lord of the Rings

Wood, however, comes to The Lord of the Rings films as more than just a fan. In a discussion with the ReelBlend podcast, he admits that The Fellowship of the Ring holds a special place in his heart because of the experience he had filming it. Wood cherishes the scenes he shared with all of his castmates, and in particular, his fellow Hobbits:

The feeling of shooting Fellowship was always extraordinary because of that group dynamic. Specifically, for me, it was getting to spend time with the four Hobbits as a unit, which was so lovely, and we all were so close. Being with Viggo (Mortensen) and Sean Bean and Orlando (Bloom), having that whole unit and working together on some of those sequences was just always thrilling, Most of the Fellowship stuff was shot in earlier days, so there was some cohesion to that. But yeah, I, like you, share a specific love for Fellowship of the Ring as well, as a film. There is something about that fellowship, the connection that they share, the cohesion of that journey, the start of that journey that then splinters off and becomes so many different things from The Two Towers on -- and I love those movies, too. They’re incredible, and they’re dynamic, and super emotional. But there is something really magical about The Fellowship of the Ring that is so beautiful, and I think, yeah, remains to be my favorite of the three films.

The entire fellowship gathered in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Wood's perspective is certainly understandable - Frodo and Sam are separated from the rest of the Fellowship by the first film's end, meaning that the vast majority of his time spent with his castmates is concentrated in Fellowship of the Ring. The film's cast became so close during their time in New Zealand that the nine Fellowship actors all got the same tattoo to commemorate the experience, with the exception of Gimli actor John Rhys-Davies, who delegated to his stunt double. The specialness of that bond means that, for Wood, the question of his favorite Lord of the Rings film can only really have one answer.

Some could see the Frodo actor choosing between the films as sacrilegious, while others (particularly those whose favorite is Fellowship) might cheer on his admission. But most comforting for fans of The Lord of the Rings is that there really is no wrong answer, as all three are truly excellent pieces of filmmaking. And with the original LOTR trilogy getting recent 4k restorations, they seem poised to bring in a new generation of viewers.

Next: How Gandalf Can Appear In Amazon's Lord of the Rings (But Not Ian McKellen)

Source: ReelBlend