How much time passes between the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies? So enduring is J.R.R. Tolkien's creation of Middle-earth that Peter Jackson spent many years and a small fortune turning The Lord of the Rings into three wildly successful movies between 2001 and 2003. After this, three movies based on The Hobbit were released between 2012 and 2014 — as prequels to the first trilogy. Then, 2022 saw the release of the prequel series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, set in the Second Age of Middle-earth thousands of years before both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Although various characters appear in both, the passage of time is most obvious in Bilbo Baggins, who goes from Martin Freeman to Ian Holm during the interim. But just how long is the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?
Both trilogies' stories take place in the Third Age of Middle-earth, which started when Sauron was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The Hobbit begins in the year 2941 and ends in 2942. The Lord of the Rings picks up 60 years later with Bilbo's birthday party in 3001, but then there's a time skip of 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo beginning his quest, meaning the bulk of The Lord of the Rings is set in 3018, some 77 years after The Hobbit. Notably, while The Rings of Power's Galadriel and Elrond appeared in the movies, they were already thousands of years old during The Lord of the Rings.
The Way The LOTR Movies Show Time Passing Is Confusing
Confusion arises because while the 17-year gap is made explicit in the book, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring glosses over this period, implying Frodo leaves Bag End only a short while after Bilbo does. The Lord of the Rings timeline is corroborated when Bilbo reveals to Kili in The Hobbit that it's his 51st birthday while the company is in Laketown. The Lord of the Rings opens with Bilbo turning 111 years old, giving the 60-year expanse of time. Shortly before Frodo's departure in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf remembers Bilbo leaving Bag End "nearly 80 years before," which confirms the time jump and the 3018-3019 setting for the remainder of the story. In Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gandalf confirms to Frodo that Bilbo and the One Ring were together for 60 years, but the 17-year time jump is quietly brushed under the carpet, and none of the Hobbit characters seem to age from the day of Bilbo's party until they leave the Shire.
While The Lord of the Rings' timeline jumps way ahead of The Hobbit, plenty of fascinating events occur during those 60 years. Sauron rises to prominence, Aragorn learns about his royal lineage, and Frodo's parents pass away. Aragorn also begins dealing with Gandalf, who in turn is meeting with the White Council to discuss the growing threat of Sauron. Together, Aragorn and Gandalf try to uncover the whereabouts of the One Ring, and ascertain who might possess information, even capturing Gollum for this purpose.
How Long Before The Hobbit Is The Rings Of Power?
The Lord of the Rings timeline occurs about 5,000 years after the events in The Rings of Power. Set in the Second Age, the Rings of Power timeline goes so deep into ancient Middle-earth history that Sauron hasn't even crafted the One Ring during the prequel series' first season. Apart from the threat that Sauron posed to Middle-earth, perhaps the most notable events that occur in this 5,000-year gap are the defeat of Sauron's physical form in the Second Age, and Isildur refusing to give up the One Ring — but later getting ambushed by Orcs and losing the One Ring at a river at the beginning of the Third Age.
At about a thousand years into the Third Age, to counter the spirit of Sauron that still resides in the One Ring, Gandalf and the other four Istari were sent to Middle-earth. About 600 years later, the Harfoots of The Rings of Power settle the banks of the Brandywine River to found the Shire. Curiously, this is around the time when The Rings of Power's Balrog was supposed to awaken, according to the books. Canonically speaking, between The Rings of Power and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, there are still thousands of years worth of Tolkien lore that the shows and movies haven't yet explored.