Taking Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) away from Radiator Springs and going international (plus making Mater a spy) didn't grab critics. This sequel became the first "rotten" Pixar movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Deservedly.

In the second movie ever released by Pixar, an ant named Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) sets out to find others to help save his colony against grasshoppers and ends up recruiting a unique group of allies.

Though the movie was successful at the box office, with the release of DreamWorks' "Antz" a month earlier, you're more likely to remember the Lasseter-Katzenberg feud than the films. 

Though the "Cars" movies are the least acclaimed of anything Pixar makes, the company continues to churn them out. "Cars 3" touches on some interesting themes like mortality and self-confidence, but it feels like everyone involved in the making of it was on cruise control.

Perhaps one of the more serious stories in the Pixar inventory, this coming-of-age tale about an Apatosaurus and his human friend Spot trying to return home didn't catch on nearly as much as Pixar's other release in 2015, "Inside Out."

Burnout may have been at play here, but mostly Pixar challenged its core audience with a darker story than they were used to.

With perhaps a little too much old-school Disney gloss, the movie nevertheless featured a princess who's one of the most strong-willed we've seen in an animated feature. But it just didn't work as well as Pixar titles before or since.

In this touching story that centers a family story in the fantasy world, we follow two elf brothers as they set out on a magical quest to bring their father back from the dead.

Like all Pixar movies, there's a lot of self discovery in this one that is hit or miss throughout.

"Lightyear" is the movie that Andy from "Toy Story" is obsessed over and what leads to him getting the Buzz Lightyear toy.

Wish we could say we were as obsessed over the movie as he was.

It's fun, and Chris Evans is great voicing the "real" Buzz. But it just misses that quality that makes the great Pixar movies so special.

Still, the action sequences are exciting and the theme music from composer Michael Giacchino is a standout.

The final Pixar movie that the company produced independently before being bought by Disney, "Cars" — a look at a hotshot racing car that finds humility and true friends in a dusty country town — was one of those for-the-whole-family, feel-good stories that was light on the clichés.

In the prequel to the popular "Monsters, Inc.," Pixar does impressive work to make the backstory of how Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) met as fun and original as the classic first film.

Setting the story in the college life of monsters opens the door to easy traps, but the movie mostly steers clear and has a strong ending.

In Pete Docter and Kemp Power's latest directing effort for Pixar, the two take us into the world of a struggling musician, who dies on the day of his big break.

On the verge of going to the great beyond, or an alternate universe for souls, he tries to get back into his own body.

Jamie Foxx is great voicing the main character, Joe. Tina Fey, as the difficult spirit 22, can get annoying at times, but that's likely the point of her bratty character who doesn't want to live on Earth.

The real hit of this movie, however, is the amazing digital animation that makes New York City pop.

Pixar has created its first ever rom-com with this touching story set around a girl made of fire and a boy made of water.

Directed by Peter Sohn ("The Good Dinosaur"), the movie has lots of layers like immigration, different cultures, tolerance, and family, as the movie sets around a family made of fire that has to try to live in a city that doesn't accommodate them. 

But at its core, the movie is a lighthearted look at young love. This is one that's going to make you feel good when you leave the theater.

This story of love and loss will pull at your heartstrings, as the titular young boy struggles with the loss of both his parents and must adapt to being under the care of his aunt, an Air Force major with ambitions of her own. Elio's wish to be understood is granted in the form of an extraterrestrial connection, though that, too, turns sideways when he must lead an intergalactic dispute.

Like every Pixar movie, "Elio" is fueled by a emotion. You'll want to hug your loved ones tightly after it's over.

After gaining an Oscar for her beloved short film "Bao," director Domee Shi delivers a moving look at what it's like to be a teenage girl in her directorial debut.

Following 13-year-old Meilin as she navigates being a teen and her overbearing mother, she also comes to learn that thanks to a family curse whenever she gets excited she turns into a giant red panda.

This one is definitely a mother-daughter watch.

Nine years after the Oscar-winning original, we're back inside the mind of Riley. Now 13, she's got a lot more swirling in her head besides "Joy," "Anger," "Sadness," "Fear," and "Disgust."

With puberty hitting, there's now "Envy," "Boredom," "Embarrassment," and "Anxiety."

Like the first movie, the sequel cleverly examines how emotions fuel our everyday lives, especially in our youth. Here, the main focus is Riley trying to fit in at hockey skills camp, which leads to a lot of anxiety and repressing her key emotions.

Though the middle of the movie gets a bit stale as Joy tries to race back before Anxiety goes too far, it gets points for having one of the better endings in the Pixar filmography.

Marking the first time Pixar based a movie around a holiday, director Lee Unkirch ("Toy Story 3") gives us a powerful story about family and never forgetting your past all set around Dia de los Muertos. Make sure to bring the tissues for this one.

Director Enrico Casarosa delivers a beautiful look at friendship and Italian culture with this movie that follows two boys who are sea creatures but long to explore above the surface. 

Looking like regular boys when they are out of the water, they embark on a journey through the small fishing town near where they live.

It results in an adventure that speaks to expanding your horizons and never being scared of change.

The first directing effort by Pete Doctor ("Up," "Inside Out"), "Monsters, Inc.," the story of how monsters use the screams of children to power their world, was a genius idea that was elevated by the performances of Crystal and Goodman as the leads. With laughs and a heartwarming story, the movie showed that Pixar had more up its sleeve than the "Toy Story" movies.

14 years after the hit original, director Brad Bird finally returns to continue the story of the superhero Parr family. Starting up right where we left off at the end of the first movie, the sequel has all the fun and thrills of the original while still cleverly keeping those family strife undertones that ground the story. (You have to have something for the parents to relate to.)

The highest-grossing animated movie of 2016, the sequel to "Finding Nemo" did not disappoint with audiences as we follow Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) on her journey to find her parents. With many characters from the original returning and some great new ones, Pixar proved the 13-year gap from when the original opened didn't affect their storytelling or our love for this world.

Pixar's Oscar-winner for best animated feature touches on all the things that have made its movies so beloved. The original story of a young girl growing up told through personified emotions, and the journey to finding one's true self, could've been corny. But Pixar's execution was flawless.

The second "Toy Story" puts Woody (Tom Hanks) in the clutches of a toy seller who's ready to ship the antique cowboy off for some major coin. Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of the toys have to figure out how to save him. Like the first time, the movie has some great drama and thrills that proved a lot more could be told about these plastic toys.

"Up" is a perfect example of the adult topics Pixar began to take on once it was on steady ground in Hollywood. Focusing on love and the inability to let go, the story of an elderly man's journey to a far-off land on his floating house after his wife dies is equally heartbreaking and life-affirming — a triumph that led to it getting a best-picture Oscar nomination.

Though many thought the third "Toy Story" was a beautiful close to the franchise that launched Pixar into a giant in the animation world, "Toy Story 4" doesn't do a bad job in trying to match up to its predecessor. Though it doesn't pull the emotional strings as dramatically as "3," it is definitely a worthy addition thanks to new characters like Forky and Duke Caboom, as well as a strong storyline for Bo Peep. 

Hailed by critics when it came out, and nominated for a best picture Oscar, the third "Toy Story" is the franchise's most emotionally charged to date. Woody, Buzz, and the gang find themselves mistakenly delivered to a day-care center, where they encounter some interesting new toys. 

Playing on the big Hollywood secret agent/superhero movies, Pixar's curveball turned off some who didn't want it meddling in the genre. But the story of a superhero past his prime and realizing he's even more powerful when his family is by his side indicated the emotional depths Pixar wanted to explore.

This touching examination of the sanctity of art and how it can be commercialized into watered-down muck — cleverly using the setting of a restaurant kitchen — is one of the most emotionally fulfilling movies ever made, Pixar or otherwise.

From the sarcastic comedy of Albert Brooks opposite the sweetly naive tone of Ellen DeGeneres, to the attention to detail in the gorgeous CGI-rendered underwater world, "Finding Nemo" provided a lot for everyone to love. And the giant box-office numbers speak for themselves.

The movie that started it all. Lasseter directed it and pretty much put all the company's chips into one basket. "Toy Story" elevated what kinds of stories animated movies could tell. And its computer-generated animation was the nail in the coffin for Disney's traditional hand-drawn work.

Director Andrew Stanton ("Finding Nemo," "WALL-E") gives us a remarkable story that celebrates old cinema (the silent movie, the musical) while delivering a message about the need to protect the planet (and our health) as flashy technology takes over.

Pixar is known for making us care about fictional creatures and objects, but with "WALL-E," that connection to the characters — the sense that they're living beings — is so intertwined with our experience of watching that you have to remind yourself it's just a story.

And that's the best kind of storytelling.

The sole animated trilogy on this list, the "How to Train Your Dragon" trilogy, proved that Disney didn't have a monopoly on beautifully told stories from 2010 to 2019.

The series, released by DreamWorks Animation, focused on the story of Hiccup, an awkward teenager who discovers that dragons, long-feared by his entire community as raging beasts, aren't what they seem.

As Hiccup (spoiler) loses his leg at the climax of the film, he is seen using a prosthetic in the next two films, making him a landmark in disability and amputee representation, as reported by The Washington Post.

Additionally, the score for this trilogy is so awe-inspiring that it became a meme on TikTok.

However, the real draw of this series is the absolutely heartwarming bond between Hiccup and his downright adorable dragon, Toothless. They're best friends! It's beautiful!

It's so popular that one of the lands at Universal Studios' Epic Universe is the Isle of Berk, where you can meet all your favorite characters in real life — even Toothless.

All three "How to Train Your Dragon" movies are streaming on Peacock. The first one is also available on HBO Max.

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, released from 2001 to 2003, told a sprawling tale of good versus evil set in a fictional world called Middle Earth.

Based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's series of books, there hadn't (and still hasn't) been anything quite like director Peter Jackson's trilogy. All three were filmed back-to-back in New Zealand, letting the actors and the creative team fully immerse themselves in the fantasy world.

And what a world Middle Earth is. It contains beautiful landscapes, compelling heroes and villains in Frodo, Gandalf, Saruman, and Gollum, and an inspiring story of the little guy triumphing over the strongest evil force in the world.

Any trilogy with extended cuts that are 4 hours long and that people genuinely love watching deserves its place on this list. Plus, all three were nominated for best picture at the Oscars, with the third and final installment, "The Return of the King," winning the top prize in 2004.

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is available to stream on HBO Max, while the prequel series "Rings of Power" is streaming on Prime Video.

The "Back to the Future" trilogy, which is celebrated every October 21 as the day Marty (an '80s teenager played by Michael J. Fox) travels in time, was a full-blown phenomenon in the '80s and '90s.

The films made an A-list movie star out of Fox, introduced Christopher Lloyd, who plays Marty's best friend and disgraced nuclear physicist Doc Brown, to a new generation, and made everyone long for flying skateboards and sneakers that tied themselves.

While we're still not at the level of technology we saw in "Back to the Future 2," the appeal of the story of Marty trying to simultaneously improve his parents' lives, save Doc from an untimely death, and ultimately return home from the Wild West, remains timeless.

So much so that a musical adaptation of the first film ran for two years on Broadway.

The "Back to the Future" trilogy is available to rent online.

After the mega-success of "Airplane!" in 1980, Leslie Nielsen once again spoofed a well-known profession with "The Naked Gun": a detective. Without "Naked Gun," we might not have gotten "Reno 911," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," or even the "Austin Powers" movies.

"The Naked Gun" was such a huge success upon its 1988 release that two more sequels following the lovably dimwitted cop Sgt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen) were commissioned in 1991 and 1994.

Sgt. Drebin is so enduring that more than 30 years later, Liam Neeson was tapped to star in a "Naked Gun" reboot. It's set for release in August 2025.

The "Naked Gun" trilogy is available to stream on Paramount+.

Clint Eastwood starred in the "Man with No Name" trilogy, consisting of 1964's "A Fistful of Dollars," 1965's "For a Few Dollars More," and 1966's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" — and a fun fact: This trilogy was actually crafted after the movies were released.

These Spaghetti Westerns were first released in Italy. Once United Artists picked up the distribution rights, the studio decided to package them together as one trilogy starring Eastwood as the titular man with no name (even though his characters do have different names in each).

However, these three movies changed Hollywood forever, as they introduced Eastwood to the movie-going masses, a move that affected the next 60 years (and counting) of cinema.

Director Sergio Leone's aesthetic has influenced countless movies and TV shows, including hits like "The Mandalorian." And, of course, Ennio Morricone's theme for "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is still one of the most recognizable pieces of music of all time.

The "Man with No Name" trilogy is streaming on Tubi and Prime Video.

There's an argument to be made that Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, released from 2005 to 2012, is the best superhero trilogy of all time.

But when Christian Bale took over as the Caped Crusader in 2005, it wasn't a given that the film would be a huge success, never mind that its sequel would become the first superhero to have an actor win an Academy Award (Heath Ledger, posthumously, for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight").

Arguably, "The Dark Knight" (and the two films it's sandwiched between) changed the comic-book/superhero genre forever, paving the way for what it's become today — one of the most important genres at the box office — as well as the grittier and darker aesthetic many films adopted after.

Even if everyone isn't 100% satisfied with the trilogy's conclusion, "The Dark Knight Rises" was a huge box-office success and, 13 years later, is now one of the more impressive franchise-ending films.

"The Dark Knight" trilogy is available to stream on HBO Max.

If "Batman Begins" and its two sequels were more a realistic, grittier adaptation of a comic book, 2002's "Spider-Man" and its two sequels were ripped directly from the pages of Stan Lee's and Steve Ditko's comics in the '60s. Tobey Maguire looked eerily like a classic drawing of Peter Parker.

Even if "Spider-Man 3" didn't live up to the hype of the first two, "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" are some of the best comic-book movies of all time.

The "Spider-Man" trilogy is available to stream on Disney+.

The lone MCU trilogy to make its way on this list is the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy. Expectations were low when the first "Guardians" film was released in 2014. Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, and Groot were by no means beloved characters, and director James Gunn had never helmed a production of this magnitude before.

Thankfully, it was a breath of fresh air. The soundtrack was amazing, the characters were lovable and hilarious, and the look was so different from the rest of the primarily grounded Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Vol. 2" followed in 2017, adding the wonderful Mantis and officially welcoming Nebula to the team.

Gunn made it clear that "Vol. 3," which was released in 2023, would be his final outing with this iteration of the Guardians, and they all had fittingly bittersweet endings.

The "Guardians" trilogy is available to stream on Disney+.

Decades after its original release from 1977 to 1983, we're still getting new "Star Wars" content, between the multitude of Disney+ shows, multiple cartoons, and two more sequel trilogies (neither of which lived up to the hype of the original space opera).

But even though we're still living in a sprawling, extended "Star Wars" universe, George Lucas' first trilogy of "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi," tells a relatively simple story that anyone can relate to: A small-town boy pines to explore the world, only to find out that life is much more complicated (and wonderful) when you leave your bubble.

Just add in some of fiction's most charming characters (Han Solo, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi) and an iconically terrifying villain (Darth Vader), and you have three of the most influential, beloved movies ever.

The "Star Wars" trilogy is available to stream on Disney+.

There were horror movies before this trilogy, but nothing had come along quite like "Night of the Living Dead" upon its release in 1968.

The first film, which focuses on a small group of strangers riding out a zombie apocalypse in an abandoned cabin, is not just considered the first modern zombie movie — you're welcome, "Walking Dead" fans — but also one of the best horror films and one of the most influential movies of all time.

The next two follow-ups, released in 1978 and 1985 and also directed by indie film legend George Romero, continued the series.

While there are more also directed by Romero, they came 20+ years after the third film, and aren't held in quite the same esteem.

"Night of the Living Dead" and "Day of the Living Dead" are streaming on Tubi, while "Dawn of the Dead" is available to rent.

Not many trilogies can boast a three-for-three best picture nomination statistic (perhaps the only other trilogy might be the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy). But only "The Godfather" trilogy can claim two best picture wins, for its first two films.

The Italian-American mafia story has one of the greatest casts ever assembled — Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Andy García, to name a few — and kick-started a mob/organized craze in pop culture that we're still living in today, including "Scarface," "Goodfellas," "The Sopranos," "Mob Wives," "Peaky Blinders," "MobLand," and more.

The "Godfather" trilogy is available to stream on Paramount+. Note that the third film is the newly recut version by Coppola re-titled "The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone."

After the success of "Star Wars," Harrison Ford again teamed up with its creator George Lucas and none other than Steven Spielberg to bring one of the most iconic heroes to the big screen: Indiana Jones, an archaeology professor who also has the combat skills of a super-soldier.

And the original "Indiana Jones" trilogy, 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1984's "Temple of Doom," and 1989's "The Last Crusade," remain exciting adventure films decades later — but the less we speak of 2008's "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" the better and 2023's "Dial of Destiny" is good, but not entirely necessary.

The "Indiana Jones" trilogy and "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" are available to stream on Disney+ and Paramount+. "Dial of Destiny" is only on Disney+.

The story of Jesse and Céline begins in 1995 when two strangers meet on a train to Budapest and decide to roam around the city of Vienna to kill time. They bond over their shared love of music and their similar outlook on life.

Much of the film's dialogue was cowritten by the stars, making actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's conversations all the more relatable and watchable.

In an interesting turn of events, the actors reunited nine years later for "Before Sunset" and nine years after that for "Before Midnight" to check in on the couple to see how love realistically evolves over two decades.

"Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" are available to rent online. "Before Midnight" is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Director Sam Raimi has another trilogy on this list: the "Evil Dead" trilogy, consisting of "The Evil Dead" in 1981, "Evil Dead II" in 1987, and "Army of Darkness" in 1992.

The "Evil Dead" movies, or the "Ash Gets Punished Over Thousands of Years" trilogy, are cited as some of the most influential horror/comedy films of all time by outlets like Screen Rant. They were shepherded by director Raimi and star Bruce Campbell.

"Evil Dead" and its two sequels (well, one sequel and one remake/reboot) flawlessly balanced the black comedy and the horror staples of the zombie genre, paving the way for "Shaun of the Dead," "Ready or Not," "Scream," or even "Get Out."

"The Evil Dead" and "Army of Darkness" are available to rent, while "Evil Dead II" is streaming on The Roku Channel and Plex.

"The Vengeance Trilogy" isn't a trilogy with connecting characters, but rather is connected via themes of revenge and retribution.

South Korean director Park Chan-wook didn't initially consider 2002's "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," 2003's "Oldboy," and 2005's "Lady Vengeance" a trilogy, but it's clear that each film deals with similar themes.

All are films focusing on a character who is hell-bent on getting revenge on those who have wronged them — although, in the case of "Oldboy," it's unclear who's actually getting revenge.

Be warned: These movies are not for the faint of heart. But they are thought-provoking, disturbing, and well-acted.

"Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" and "Lady Vengeance" are available to stream on Tubi and AMC+, and "Oldboy" is on Paramount+.

Wood played a hobbit named Frodo in the "Lord of the Rings" films. 

After inheriting the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, Frodo bravely volunteers to take it to Mordor to be destroyed, kicking off the epic journey across Middle Earth.

Wood began acting at a young age and had several major film credits before "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), like "Flipper" (1996) and "Avalon" (1990).

Wood has stayed busy with movies of all genres, including the action-comedy "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over" (2003), romantic drama "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), animated musical "Happy Feet" (2006), and psychological slasher "Maniac" (2012). 

In 2010, Wood cofounded the production company SpectreVision, formerly known as The Woodshed, and has gone on to produce films like "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014),  "Mandy" (2018), and "Color Out of Space" (2019).

In addition to his other career as a DJ, Wood still found time to work on projects like Cartoon Network's "Over the Garden Wall," "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" (2017), and "Come to Daddy" (2019).

These days, you can catch him in the ensemble cast of Showtime's "Yellowjackets."

The Danish-American actor Mortensen played Aragorn — the son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur, and eventual King of Gondor. 

Aragorn is a member of the Fellowship and leads the fight against Sauron's army while the One Ring is being destroyed.

Before joining the "Lord of the Rings" cast, Mortensen had worked with directors like Peter Weir, Brian De Palma, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, and Jane Campion. 

Fans would likely recognize him from films like "Young Guns II" (1990), "Crimson Tide" (1995), "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996), and "G.I. Jane" (1997).

Mortensen has since been nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards three times, for "Eastern Promises" (2007), "Captain Fantastic" (2016), and "Green Book" (2018), and has received numerous other honors. 

He made his feature directorial debut with the 2020 drama "Falling," which he also wrote, coproduced, and starred in opposite Lance Henriksen.

Most recently, the actor starred in "Eureka" (2023). 

Bean played Boromir, the son of Denethor and a member of the Fellowship.

Boromir primarily appears in the first movie, as he dies defending Merry and Pippin against a horde of orcs after briefly allowing himself to be tempted by the One Ring.

Bean was previously known for his roles in action thrillers like "Patriot Games" (1992), "GoldenEye" (1995), and "Ronin" (1998).

After meeting his character's demise in "The Fellowship of the Ring," Bean appeared in "Equilibrium" (2002), portrayed Odysseus in "Troy" (2004), and chased Nicolas Cage in "National Treasure" (2004).

He went on to famously play Ned Stark on HBO's "Game of Thrones." 

More recently, he played Mr. Wilford on TNT's "Snowpiercer," John Parse in Brandon Cronenberg's 2020 sci-fi thriller "Possessor," and Ian on the BBC drama "Marriage."

Monaghan played the troublesome hobbit Merry in the "Lord of the Rings" films. 

Merry is a hobbit from Frodo's village who finds himself leaving the Shire and joining Frodo's dangerous adventure.

He had acted in several TV movies, but "The Fellowship of the Ring" was Monaghan's big-screen debut. 

After concluding the film trilogy, Monaghan landed the role of Charlie Pace on ABC's "Lost" and appeared on the series until 2010.

After that, he hosted and produced the BBC wildlife docuseries "Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan" from 2012 to 2016.

He also starred in the video short for Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie," played a mutant in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009), and joined another major franchise when he appeared in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019).

He voiced Archibald Desnay on Amazon Prime's 2022 animated adaptation of "Critical Role," "The Legend of Vox Machina." Most recently, he voiced an Orc in the animated "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The War of the Rohirrim" (2024).

Astin portrayed the loyal hobbit Samwise, Frodo's best friend. 

Save for a few brief separations, Sam is always by Frodo's side and risks his life many times to save his friends.

Astin had several notable credits before the fantasy franchise, famous for roles in films like "The Goonies" (1985) and "Rudy" (1993). 

Astin has since done a lot of voice-over work for animated films and video games, even providing the voice for Raphael on Nickelodeon's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

In 2017, he joined the second season of Netflix's "Stranger Things" as Joyce's love interest, Bob Newby.

He has several projects in the works, and he also recently played a recurring role on the sitcom "The Conners."

If not for McKellen's character, the Fellowship would never have formed and likely would not have survived.

McKellen mainly began his professional acting career on the stage in the early 1960s. A year before the fantasy trilogy debuted, he joined the Marvel universe as Magneto in the "X-Men" franchise.

McKellen continued playing Magneto during and after the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, most recently in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).

The actor is one of the few "Lord of the Rings" cast members to also appear in the "Hobbit" films, reprising his role as the powerful wizard.

Some of McKellen's more recent turns include Cogsworth in the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) and Gus the Theatre Cat in "Cats" (2019).

He also has several recent theater credits in the UK, including "Hamlet" and "The Cherry Orchard."

The Welsh actor Rhys-Davies portrayed the dwarf warrior Gimli. 

Gimli is the representative for the dwarfs in the Fellowship and the son of Glóin, one of Bilbo's companions during the events of "The Hobbit."

Rhys-Davies, who also provided the voice of Treebeard in the films, previously played Sallah in several "Indiana Jones" films and Vasco Rodrigues on NBC's miniseries "Shogun," for which he received an Emmy nomination. 

After "The Lord of the Rings," he appeared in a number of notable TV movies and on shows like Comedy Central's "TripTank."

There are a few other fantasy projects on his recent résumé, including ABC's "Once Upon a Time" and MTV's "The Shannara Chronicles." 

Rhys-Davies has also lent his voice to video games and animated projects like Guillermo del Toro's Netflix miniseries "Wizards" and the 2019 feature "Mosley."

Most recently, he voiced a character in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" (2023).

Bloom played the master archer and wood elf Legolas.

The arrow-wielding hero is also a member of the Fellowship and eventually becomes Gimli's best friend, even though dwarfs and elves historically hated each other.

Bloom was relatively unknown when he was cast in the trilogy, but between the first and second films, he appeared in "Black Hawk Down" (2002).

Bloom famously played Will Turner in four of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" installments. 

Alongside McKellen, he also revisited the role of Legolas in the "Hobbit" films. 

In addition to other hit projects like "Troy" (2004) and "The Three Musketeers" (2011), the actor starred on the Amazon series "Carnival Row" as Rycroft Philostrate.

More recently, he starred in the action film "Red Right Hand" (2024).

Boyd played Pippin, the immature best friend of Merry, and appeared in all three "Lord of the Rings" films. 

As a part of the Fellowship, his antics cause trouble for the group, but he always means well.

Boyd had primarily worked on television before he was cast in the first film of the trilogy and continued to do so in between the franchise's sequels.

Boyd appeared in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" alongside Russell Crowe in 2003, the same year as "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." 

The next year, he provided the voice of Glen and Glenda for the horror film "Seed of Chucky" (2004). 

Boyd is also a musician and got to write and perform a song for "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014).

He was seen on episodes of FX's "Snowfall," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," and Starz's "Outlander." He also appeared in the 2021 thriller "An Intrusion."

More recently, he voiced a character in the anime "Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The War of the Rohirrim."

The English actor Holm played Bilbo Baggins, the previous ring bearer. 

Bilbo is Frodo's guardian and cousin, and he is unnaturally old because of the effects of the One Ring.

Even before the film franchise, Holm was a Tony Award-winning actor, probably best known to fantasy and sci-fi fans for playing Ash in the Ridley Scott film "Alien" (1979).

After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Holm worked on an impressive array of films like "Garden State" (2004), "Lord of War" (2005), and "Ratatouille" (2007).

In 2020, Holm died at age 88 of complications related to Parkinson's disease.

Tyler brought Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond, to life on the big screen. The elf saves Frodo from the Black Riders and later marries Aragorn.

Before "The Fellowship of the Ring," Tyler had been in plenty of films, including "Stealing Beauty" (1996) and "Armageddon" (1998).

Tyler joined another major franchise in 2008 as Betty Ross in Marvel's "The Incredible Hulk." In 2025, she reprised the role in "Captain America: Brave New World."

Elsewhere, Tyler played Meg Abbott on HBO's "The Leftovers," Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam on ITV-Hulu's "Harlots," Eve in the sci-fi thriller "Ad Astra" (2019), and Michelle Blake on Fox's "9-1-1: Lone Star."

Elrond, played by Weaving, is the Lord of Rivendell. The elf was there when Isildur claimed the One Ring and tried to get him to destroy it, to no avail.

Fans would likely recognize Weaving as Agent Smith in "The Matrix" films, a franchise that mostly ran at the same time as the "Lord of the Rings" movies. 

Weaving went on to play V in "V for Vendetta" (2006), voice Megatron in Michael Bay's "Transformers" films, and portray the Red Skull in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011). 

Weaving starred in the drama "Lone Wolf" and appeared on the Binge miniseries "Love Me" in 2021.

Most recently, he played the villainous Frank Harness in the thriller series "Slow Horses."

Blanchett portrayed Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood and grandmother to Arwen. 

In "The Fellowship of the Ring," she gives each traveler a special gift, including the "star-glass" that later proves useful against the giant spider.

Blanchett didn't get a ton of screen time in the films — only a minute and 23 seconds, according to Screen Rant. 

She had appeared in several movies before "The Lord of the Rings," like "Elizabeth" (1998) and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999).

Immediately after "The Lord of the Rings," Blanchett appeared in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004) and "The Aviator" (2004), which earned her an Oscar win. 

She racked up more nominations for "Notes on a Scandal" (2006), "I'm Not There" (2007), and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007) before winning another Oscar for "Blue Jasmine" (2013). 

Blanchett was nominated yet again for her work in "Carol" (2016) and played the activist Phyllis Schlafly in the FX miniseries "Mrs. America."

More recently, she starred in "Don't Look Up" (2021), "Tár" (2022), "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" (2022), and the TV series "Disclaimer" (2024).

Serkis' portrayal of Gollum was an impressive feat of motion-capture technology. 

Throughout the films, Gollum, originally known as Sméagol, is painted as an antagonist and a representation of the One Ring's consequences.

Before his performance in the trilogy, Serkis had been in several shows and films, like "Career Girls (1997)" and "Among Giants" (1998).

Serkis reprised Gollum in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012) and did groundbreaking performance-capture work for the "Planet of the Apes" films. 

He then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the flesh as Ulysses Klaue, provided the voice of Baloo in "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" (2018), and was Snoke in the recent "Star Wars" trilogy. 

Recently, Serkis played Alfred Pennyworth in "The Batman" alongside Robert Pattinson and Kino Loy on the Disney+ series "Andor."

A film legend, Lee took a notable turn as the wizard Saruman the White, who was introduced as a respectable ally but turned out to be a power-hungry pawn of Sauron.

Before his role in the fantasy films, he starred in many movies like "Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace" (1962) and "Count Dracula" (1977).

After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Lee appeared in several films and shorts, like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005) and "Hugo" (2011), before reprising his role as Saruman in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

In 2015, Lee died at age 93 after being hospitalized for heart failure and respiratory problems.

Otto played arguably one of the most important characters in the trilogy, Éowyn. 

Disguised as a Rider of Rohan, Éowyn, shield maiden of Rohan and daughter of Éomund, ultimately kills the Witch-king of Angmar during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. 

Before her turn in the "Lord of the Rings" films, Otto appeared in movies like "The Well" (1998) and "The Thin Red Line" (1998).

Shortly after the Middle Earth films, Otto appeared on-screen again in the 2005 adaptation of "War of the Worlds." 

She has since worked on films like "Annabelle: Creation" (2017) and miniseries like USA's "The Starter Wife," ABC's "Cashmere Mafia," and Fox's "24: Legacy." 

In 2018, she showed off her fantasy roots on the Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" as aunt Zelda Spellman.

Otto recently appeared on several TV miniseries, like SBS' "The Unusual Suspects." In 2024, she reprised her role of Éowyn in the "Lord of the Rings" prequel anime film, "The War of the Rohirrim."

Noble made playing a troublesome ruler look fun. The last viewers saw of Denethor, he was falling off a cliff on fire after he had tried burning his son alive.

Before the fantasy franchise, the actor had been on TV series and in films like "The Monkey's Mask" (2001).

Noble is probably best known for playing Walter Bishop on the Fox series "Fringe." 

Like his "Lord of the Rings" costars Blanchett and Weaving, Noble also appeared as a guest on the ABC series "Rake" before signing longer stints on shows like Fox's "Sleepy Hollow," The CW's "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," and CBS' "Elementary." 

He also showed up as Billy Butcher's father on an episode of Amazon Prime's "The Boys."

More recently, he worked on Netflix's "Cowboy Bebop," Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Prodigy," and Apple TV+'s "Severance."

Urban played Éomer, the leader of the Riders of Rohan who later becomes King of the Mark.

Before the trilogy, he played Julius Caesar on Syfy's "Xena: Warrior Princess" and appeared in several films.

Urban became an action-movie star shortly after "The Return of the King" with "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004), followed by "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and "Doom" (2005). 

He later played Leonard "Bones" McCoy in "Star Trek" (2009) and continued his action-star legacy as the titular judge in "Dredd" (2012).

Urban plays Billy on "The Boys" — making Noble's guest appearance a "Lord of the Rings" reunion.