- The Hunt for Gollum is set in the Lord of the Rings world
- Andy Serkis is directing with Peter Jackson producing
- The movie was set to come out in 2026 but has now been pushed back
The Hunt for Gollum is a new movie in the Lord of the Rings world but fans are going to have to wait some time to see it as its release date has been put back.
It was May 2024 that news of a new movie in the world created by JRR Tolkien was in the works. It is the first fruits from a deal established in 2023 by Warner Bros to make multiple films based on the classic books by Tolkien.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film series of all time. The three films in the series – The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003) – grossed more than $2.9 billion at the global box office and won 17 Oscars. Jackson later returned to make a trilogy of films based on Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit, which are a prequel to The Lord of the Rings.
Who is behind the Hunt for Gollum
The good news for fans is that various Lord of the Rings veterans are in the main behind-the-scenes roles for his movie. Serkis is directing, while Peter Jackson, who directed the original Lord of the Rings movies, is producing this time around.
In addition, original writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are on board as producers and will be heavily involved, according to David Zaslav, Warner Bros Discovery CEO
When will The Hunt for Gollum be out
Initially, December 2026 was given as the release date for the movie, but this has now slipped to December 2027, according to Serkis, as reported by The Direct.
“Yeah, it is not 2026. It is going to be December 2027,” he said. The reason for the delay is that the creative team are “right at the beginning of the writing process,”, which means that production will not start until 2026.
“We will be prepping later this year,” said Serkis. “Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs that into a December 2027 release date.”
Who is in The Hunt for Gollum
With the movie at such an early stage of production, there has been no word yet on who will be cast in it, apart from Serkis himself who will be playing Gollum again via motion capture, as he has in previous films.
There is potential for actors who have played roles in the Lord of the Rings films previously to reprise their roles, such as Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, but again there has been no word on anyone confirmed for this.
What is the plot
Little has said so far about what the focus of the movie will be, other than, presumably, a search for Gollum. Back in 2025, Zaslav said it will feature “storylines yet to be told” – so perhaps something that has not been seen in the movies or books.
There has been speculation it could focus on Gandalf and his first encounter with Gollum, which takes place years before the events of the books.
