The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Limited Edition Steelbook promptly sold out last summer, but it's returning in March with a lower price tag

Lord Of The Rings Trilogy 4K Steelbook Collector's Edition - Preorder For Best-Ever Price At Amazon

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Limited Edition Steelbook promptly sold out last summer, but it's returning in March with a lower price tag

Lord of the Rings fans have another chance to add the stunning 4K Blu-ray collector's edition to their display shelf. The Limited Edition Steelbook box set of Peter Jackson's trio of LOTR adaptations is receiving another reprint. This particular set comes with a steelbook case for each film as well as a steelbook slipcase to store them in. Over at Amazon, you can preorder The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Limited Edition Steelbook for $138 ahead of its March 7 release date.

To complete your collection, you can snag the matching Limited Edition Steelbook box set for The Hobbit Trilogy for $160 at Amazon, which is the best price we've seen in many months.

This collection is a region-free import that originally released in the UK. The 9-disc box set contains the Theatrical and Extended Editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. If you've. never watched the director's cuts, we'd highly recommend it. These lengthier cuts add roughly two hours to the full runtime. All told, the extended version of the trilogy is 11 hours and 22 minutes, whereas the original theatrical version clocks in at 9 hours and 18 minutes. The 4K remasters of LOTR look and sound beautiful, especially if you have a TV and speakers that can take advantage of Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Dolby Atmos 5.1 surround sound.

The Lord of the Rings Limited Edition Steelbook was reprinted and sold last summer for $170. If you're interested in picking it up, you may want to order soon; last year's reprint sold out prior to its August 9 release and was never restocked at launch. It is worth noting, however, that Walmart has restocked the box set, too. Unlike Amazon, Walmart is shipping orders now. That said, Walmart is charging $170, whereas Amazon is offering a nearly 20% preorder discount at the moment.

This is the lowest price yet for the fancy LOTR box set. After it sold out in August, the collection routinely sold for $200 or more on the reseller market.

Note: Preordering at Amazon guarantees you'll get the box set for the lowest price offered between the time you place your order and when it ships. Since Walmart is selling the box set for $170, it's very possible Amazon will raise its price to $170 soon.

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The Hobbit Trilogy's Limited Edition Steelbook includes the Theatrical and Extended Editions of Jackson's three adaptations that form the prelude to The Lord of the Rings. The 6-disc collection supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Dolby Atmos.

Unsurprisingly, this set doesn't ordinarily fetch as high of prices on the reseller market as the matching set featuring Jackson's vastly superior LOTR Trilogy. Nevertheless, The Hobbit's Steelbook box set is often challenging to find for less than $200.

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Limited Edition Steelbook

Back to The Lord of the Rings: Each of the three steelbook cases features stylized artwork that you'll only find on these editions. Character silhouettes and key landmarks were are set against sparkly gold backdrops. For instance, The Fellowship of the Ring features Frodo, Samwise, and the rest of group beginning their long journey to destroy the One Ring. On the case for The Two Towers, Sauron's stronghold Barad-dur--which is now available as a massive Lego set--is behind a group of Ents, the tree-like creatures from the film. The Return of the King's case features Mordor behind the crouched and extremely determined Gollum.

If you like the steelbook cases but don't want to spend $138-$170 on the 4K trilogy, it's worth noting that The Fellowship of the Ring Limited Edition Steelbook received a standalone release in January. Available for $35 exclusively at Walmart, the standalone version is virtually identical to the one in the box set. If you buy Fellowship on its own, you'll also get a digital copy of the film. The lone design difference is the removal of the European content ratings board logos. Unfortunately, The Fellowship of the Ring is the only film from the set that's available outside of the collection. It's unclear at this time if Walmart will also offer the The Two Towers and/or The Return of the King as standalone 4K Blu-ray releases.

The 4K editions of LOTR and The Hobbit compiled in the Limited Edition Steelbook collections are the same as the discs found in the regular 4K box sets. You can get the Theatrical and Extended Editions of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy for $68 (was $90) at Amazon. The Hobbit Trilogy: Extended & Theatrical Editions box set is a bit- cheaper at $59 (was $90). There's also an upcoming 4K Blu-ray box set featuring all six live-action movies set in Middle-earth.

The Middle-earth 6-Film Collection carries a hefty $210 MSRP and is slated to launch on March 18. Amazon and Walmart are offering preorder deals that drops the price to $191. Notably, this collection includes 4K and standard Blu-ray discs as well as digital copies of the Theatrical and Extended Editions of all six movies. The 1080p Blu-ray discs include audio commentaries for the Extended cuts. Audio commentaries have yet to been included on any 4K UHD editions of LOTR and The Hobbit, so the aforementioned 4K collections lack these special features.

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In other Lord of the Rings Blu-ray news, the first anime inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy opus released on 4K and 1080p Blu-ray on February 18. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's Limited Edition Steelbook is $40 at Amazon, and the non-steelbook 4K edition is only $28.

Here's a look at all of the currently in stock 4K Blu-ray editions of Tolkien adaptations:

The Lord of the Rings on 4K Blu-ray

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) -- $138 (~~$170~~) | Releases March 7
The Hobbit Trilogy: Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) -- $160
The Middle-earth 6-Film Collection (4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Digital) -- $191 (~~$210~~) | Releases March 18
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring: Limited Edition Steelbook (4K, Digital) -- $35 | Walmart Exclusive
LOTR: The War of the Rohirrim: Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Digital) -- $40 | Released February 18
LOTR: The War of the Rohirrim (4K Blu-ray, Digital) -- $28 (~~$37.49~~) | Released February 18
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended & Theatrical Editions (4K Blu-ray) -- $68 (~~$90~~)
The Hobbit Trilogy: Extended & Theatrical Editions (4K Blu-ray) -- $59 (~~$90~~)