If Star Wars gets May 4, and Mean Girls gets October 3, then it’s only fair that The Lord of the Rings should get its own celebratory date. And what better time than now, since today marks a major moment in The Lord of the Rings universe?
The series spans the famous novels of JRR Tolkien, the adventure movies, and a prequel fantasy series. Not many other franchises can boast the same level of lore. And when the action movies have given us some astounding moments over the years, it seems rude not to acknowledge what happened today in the canon.
The event we’re referring to takes place specifically within The Hobbit tale, and marks the return of Bilbo Baggins to Bag End on June 22 (in his fifty-second year). This might be something of a deep pull, but Bilbo’s adventure is significant in its own right, and his return was certainly a triumph.
However, not all was well when Bilbo did return home. After all, his family, the Sackville-Bagginses, thought he was well and truly dead after disappearing for his journey. When he returned, they were caught selling off his possessions to the other hobbits (as seen in the clip below). Rude.
His family naturally wanted to live in his home themselves, and were probably a bit confused over seeing the hobbit’s return. Bilbo ended up having to buy back all his possessions in order to avoid arguments, but thankfully, he ended up back in his home where he lived for years. Balin and Gandalf would visit him too, to keep Bilbo updated on Middle-earth matters.
Obviously we don’t condone selling off a family member’s personal belongings, but we do get the desire to live in Bag End. That place is an Airbnb goldmine, after all.
For more Middle-earth details, take a look at our guides on the Lord of the Rings characters, the Rings of Power cast, and everything we know about Rings of Power season 2. You can also get the scoop on the War of Rohirrim release date, and get to know the Lord of the Rings movies in order.
And, if you’re keen to see the near-miss that almost impacted the franchise, you can read our feature on why Russell Crowe as Aragon could have changed Hollywood. Otherwise, take a look at all the new movies coming out this year, as well as our list of the best movies of all time.