<P> The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition ( 251 minutes ) with new editing and added special effects and music , along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material , plus 10 minutes of fan - club credits . However , this set took longer to produce than the others because the cast and crew , no longer based in New Zealand for the trilogy , were spread all over the world working on other projects . The set was finally released in December 14 , 2004 in the UK and US . The final ten minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three - year charter membership . </P>
<P> The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition ( 251 minutes ) with new editing and added special effects and music , along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material , plus 10 minutes of fan - club credits . However , this set took longer to produce than the others because the cast and crew , no longer based in New Zealand for the trilogy , were spread all over the world working on other projects . The set was finally released in December 14 , 2004 in the UK and US . The final ten minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three - year charter membership . </P>
how long is lotr return of the king extended edition
how long is lotr return of the king extended edition
251 minutes
251 minutes