Peter Jackson directed the 2001 film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.
The film was released on 19 December 2001 and was the first installment in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It adapts the opening volume of Tolkien’s story, following Frodo Baggins as he leaves the Shire and joins a fellowship formed to destroy the One Ring.
New Line Cinema produced the trilogy, which was filmed largely in New Zealand. The film stars Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. Its success helped make Tolkien’s Middle-earth accessible to a large worldwide cinema audience.
Ralph Bakshi directed an earlier animated adaptation in 1978. Guillermo del Toro was initially attached to direct films related to The Hobbit but did not direct The Fellowship of the Ring.