Bad news for Max subscribers who’ve made re-watching The Lord of the Rings extended editions an annual New Year tradition: the third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King—which just celebrated its 20th anniversary!—is only available to stream in its theatrical version.
No ancient evil is to blame, thankfully; it’s an unspecified “tech issue,” according to a Max spokesperson who responded to a comment request from Vulture after the issue was noted by dismayed fans on Reddit. The fact that The Return of the King extended edition is merely temporarily unavailable is actually good news given Max’s track record for removing content in the past, and the explanation makes sense considering The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers remain available in both their theatrical and extended editions.
The Max spokesperson assured Vulture that The Return of the King extended edition will be, ah, returning soon to the service, though as of this writing it’s still missing. You can, however, rent it on Prime Video… or perhaps, make “assembling physical copies of films you can’t bear to be without” one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2024.
Updated, 1/3, 3:12 p.m.: Middle-earth has triumphed, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King extended version is now restored to Max.
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