You can watch The Hobbit in its intended story order: first The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), then The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and finally The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). Together they form a prequel trilogy to The Lord of the Rings and are best enjoyed in this sequence. This guide explains the canonical viewing order, how the trilogy fits into the larger Middle-earth timeline, and where to stream the films on major platforms in the US.
