The Hunt for Gollum, a new Lord of the Rings movie, will be released in theatres in 2026.
The first live-action LOTR movie since 2014 will be helmed and starred by Andy Serkis.
Around the time that film companies determined that everything ought to be a massive, perpetual franchise, Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy was released. In light of this, it’s a bit surprising that Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t done more to exploit J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary creations. However, the corporation recently revealed that two new Lord of the Rings films are in production, so that will soon change.
The director of the first, Andy Serkis, is known for his iconic portrayal of Gollum in Michael Jackson’s previous films. The film’s working title is Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Having Serkis on board and working from a script written by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the previous Middle-earth films with Jackson) gives me a little more hope that this isn’t just a cheap money grab. Walsh and Boyens will produce in addition to Peter Jackson. In addition to directing Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2022, Serkis was the second unit director for the Hobbit films in the past.
You won’t be shocked to hear that Serkis is returning to the role of the film’s titular Gollum, especially considering the working title. Although I was curious to see how a different actor would portray the character, I find it nearly impossible to cast someone else as Gollum because of how well-defined Serkis’ portrayal of the character was for the big screen. Though the title suggests it will take place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf and Aragorn are searching Middle-earth for Gollum in an attempt to find out more about the ring that Bilbo and later Frodo owned. No official word has been given regarding the movie’s plot, though.
That something like this didn’t happen sooner is a little surprising given Hollywood’s ravenous appetite for Content based on Popular Franchises. Nine years after the release of the first three films, Jackson and team released a bloated and excessively computer-generated imagery film series centred on The Hobbit and events that corresponded with Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings appendices. Of course, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon made its debut in 2022. A fascinating project that will be released prior to The Hunt for Gollum is The War of the Rohirrim, an anime-style movie. The events of Rohan a few hundred years before to The Lord of the Rings are covered in that film, which is set to release in December.
I’m excited and sceptical about this announcement as a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings. Projects such as these are inevitable in the entertainment industry because properties like Lord of the Rings have too much financial value to not pursue additional revenue streams. Nonetheless, Serkis seems like a great fit for the film’s director, and maybe they’ll discover a taut, independent plot that stands alone. Even though the Hobbit films contained a lot of enjoyable content, I’m still cautious because of the mess they produced, but this seems like an excellent chance to steer the future of Middle-earth cinematic production in a favourable direction.
