Summary

• LEGO has released their largest Lord of the Rings set yet, featuring the iconic Barad-Dûr from Mordor, standing 83 cm tall.
• The set includes 10 minifigures, a rotating ladder in the tower library, and an automated black gate with a lit up Eye of Sauron.
• The LOTR franchise is expanding, with new shows, movies, and a live-action film titled "The Hunt for Gollum" expected in 2026.

Prepare your wallets because LEGO has released their newest Lord of the Rings set, and it's their biggest set ever. The world-famous toy brand kick-started their Lord of the Rings theme in 2023 with a gigantic Rivendell set, which included minifigures of the entire Fellowship. The set was immensely popular, and quickly sold out upon its release (but has since been restocked), and almost guaranteed that LEGO would continue recreating iconic landmarks and moments from J.R.R. Tolkien's world.

The newest set takes customers away from the Land of Elves to the dark depths of Mordor, bringing the iconic Barad-Dûr, the Eye of Sauron, to life. The set stands at almost twice the height of LEGO's Rivendell set, at 83 cm tall x 44cm wide x 36 cm deep, and clocks in at 5,471 pieces. The set currently costs $459.99, slightly less than LEGO's previous Rivendell set ($499.99). Set within the tower are four floors, featuring a dining room with a hidden mad of Middle Earth, the Mouth of Sauron's study, and the tower library with a rotating ladder. Additionally, the black gate is automated, and the iconic eye lights up.

Like any great LEGO set, the Barad-Dûr also comes with a selection of minifigures which can transform the towering structure into a diorama depicting a famous scene from Lord of the Rings. Alongside the Eye of Sauron, the set also comes with 10 minifigures, including Frodo, Sam, Gollum, Sauron, the Mouth of Sauron, and several other villainous creatures from Sauron's army. LEGO announced the set on May 14, via a Tweet, which you can view below:

The LEGO Barad-Dûr set is exclusively available to LEGO Insiders from June 1, then goes on wide release from June 4.

The Lord of the Rings Franchise Is Expanding

It's not just LEGO that are expanding their range of Lord of the Rings products, fans also have new movies and shows to look forward to in the coming years. The Prime Video series, Rings of Power is returning to the streamer this August for its second season, and just dropped a new trailer, teasing Sauron's rise to power. An animated movie, titled The War for Rohirrim, is also on the way by director Kenji Kamiyama and is scheduled to release on December 13, 2024. The series will take audiences back hundreds of years before Peter Jackson's seminal trilogy, telling the story of Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan and founder of Helm's Deep.

Most excitingly, a new, live-action movie is coming. Peter Jackson is taking a step back from the director's chair to executive produce the new movie, but Lord of the Rings veteran Andy Serkis is stepping in to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which is expected to release in 2026. In a press release for the new movie (per Variety) Warner Bros. execs Mike De Luca and Pam Adby promised the new projects would honor Tolkien's genre-defining worlds. The statement said:

""For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision. We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,’ we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cinematic history."

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is available to stream on Max.