In news that I didn’t expect to read today, Warner Bros. has officially announced that a new The Lord of the Rings movie, tentatively titled “The Hunt for Gollum”, is planned for release in 2026.
The Hunt for Gollum will be the first of a new batch of films set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy universe. Andy Serkis (who played Gollum in the original The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies) will return as Gollum and will also direct the feature.
“Yesssss, Precious,” Serkis said. “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”
Serkis will be reuniting with the director of the original trilogy, Peter Jackson, who is returning as a producer alongside his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
Walsh and Boyens served as co-writers with Jackson on the original movies. They will be writing The Hunt for Gollum, which is in “the early stages of script development”, with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that the movie will “explore storylines yet to be told.”
Warner Bros. announced that new The Lord of the Rings movies were in development back in 2023. This caused concern among fans who fell in love with Peter Jackson’s trilogy and felt that it didn’t need to be remade. Consequently, the news that the new films will not be remakes of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King should go down well.
In a statement, studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy said: “For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision. We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,’ we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cinematic history.”
Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens added: “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker — Gollum! As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy made almost $3 billion at the box office. It also earned 17 Academy Awards out of 30 nominations, including Best Picture for The Return of the King at the 76th Oscars ceremony.
Are you excited for a new The Lord of the Rings movie? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other Film & TV articles…
