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‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ Turns 15: How the Blockbuster ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series Almost Didn’t Happen

While the movie world’s attention has been on Star Wars in the past week, another huge fantasy franchise is celebrating a major milestone: Dec. 19 marks 15 years since the release of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of the multi-Oscar-winning, blockbuster adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal fantasy book. This is the story of how The Lord of the Rings nearly didn’t happen.