With almost 20 years since the release of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Peter Jackson's trilogy remains a staple in movie-making history. Not just because of the stories themselves, but because of everything that was poured into bringing Middle-earth to life during production. In fact, Jackson was so dedicated to offering the best experience possible that he continued capturing footage long after the trilogy had been released.
Unlike the vast majority of trilogies, The Lord of the Rings filmed all three movies in one go, with principal photography starting in October 1999 and going non-stop until December 2000. Then with the first movie hitting theaters in 2001, it gained huge success both critically and financially, and the team knew all their efforts would be rewarded. This only pushed Jackson's determination for perfection, causing it to continue filming on and off for yet another three years.
While The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was in its post-production phase, Peter Jackson went to film pick-up shots of Boromir, fleshing out his character with a long flashback sequence for the extended edition. The team even created new costume designs for the Witch-king and orcs, causing them to go back and re-shoot several scenes with their new looks. Although, these had to be reserved for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, as there wasn't enough time to implement them into the second movie.
As The Two Towers finally hit theaters, it had been two years since full production had wrapped, yet Jackson still wasn't satisfied. Aragorn and Arwen's kiss during the coronation was re-shot for the theatrical release, and scenes at Mount Doom were filmed in any nearby locations they could find, including Jackson's own house. But before they knew it, Return of the King was finally released in December 2003 to huge critical acclaim, and the journey of bringing Middle-earth to life had seemingly come to an end. However, the filming kept going.
In February 2004, Return of the King won 11 awards at the Oscars, tying with Ben-Hur and Titanic as the most awarded film in the Oscars' history. But it was shortly after this that Peter Jackson filmed one final scene for the extended editions, as he felt the sequence of Aragorn finding the Army of the Dead wasn't as detailed as he would like. So a few months after the trilogy was released, shots of skulls and tunnel walls were filmed to be included with Aragorn's journey. And the bizarre situation wasn't lost on Jackson, who joked on the behind-the-scenes DVD, "It's nice to win an Oscar before you've even finished the film."
The Lord of the Rings will always stand the test of time, and the behind-the-scenes stories show exactly why. From start to finish, it's clear the trilogy was a labor of love for everyone involved, and filming beyond the movie's release is a prime example. They weren't made just to earn a large chunk of money, as the goal was always to offer the very best adaption of J.R.R. Tolkien's work that could be produced. And in the end, all these efforts definitely shine through in the finished product.