The Lord Of The Rings trilogy made its Blu-ray debut earlier this year to simultaneous rejoicing and gnashing of teeth. On the one hand, it was nice to be able to bring home the trilogy in high definition picture and sound, but on the other hand, the coveted Extended Editions of the films were not made available, only the original theatrical versions.  And if you wanted just one of the mega-blockbusters, you had to shell out for all three.  Now, Warner Bros. is addressing one of these concerns, branching out the previous box set, offering each Blu-ray for individual purchase at reduced prices.

Next month, Warner Bros. and New Line will release the theatrical editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King as individual Blu-ray releases. Sadly, it appears that the only new feature is that you won't have to buy the box, but you can save a few bucks by buying them individually, compared to the boxed set price.

For those not familiar, here's a list of each disc's extras:

The Fellowship of the Ring

• Welcome to Middle-earth
• Quest for the Ring
• A Passage to Middle-earth
• Fifteen LordoftheRings.net featurettes
• The Two Towers preview
• Enya music video
• Three theatrical trailers (HD)
• Six TV spots
• Two videogame trailers (HD)
• Trilogy Supertrailer (HD)
• Extended DVD preview

The Two Towers

• On the Set
• Return to Middle- earth
• Eight LordoftheRings.net featurettes
• The Long and Short of It (with making-of)
• The Return of the King preview
• Emiliana Torrini music video
• Two theatrical trailers (HD)
• Sixteen TV spots
• Two videogame trailers (HD)
• Trilogy Supertrailer (HD)
• Extended DVD preview

The Return of the King

• The Quest Fulfilled
• A Filmmaker's Journey
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (National Geographic)
• Six LordoftheRings.net featurettes
• Two theatrical trailers (HD)
• Fourteen TV spots
• Two videogame trailers (HD)
• Trilogy Supertrailer (HD)
• Extended DVD preview

There is no word on those "Extended DVDs" previewed on each disc (i.e., when the extended versions of the films will be available on Blu-ray), however, you can expect all three theatrical cuts to be available individually on Blu-ray starting September 14, 2010.

Each disc has an MSRP of $24.98, but Amazon currently lists each one for about $6 less.  Amazon also throws in its pre-order price guarantee. That means if the price drops any more before your order ships, you will pay the lowest price.

Where to Buy:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Blu-ray on Amazon
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Blu-ray on Amazon
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Blu-ray on Amazon
• The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray on Amazon