‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ Movie Coming in 2026 From Director and Star Andy Serkis
We’ve known for a year that Warner Bros. Discovery plans to make new Lord of the Rings movies after making a deal with Embracer Group, which acquired the rights back in 2021. Today, WBD CEO David Zaslav unveiled details on the first of that new lineup of movies.
As reported in Variety, the first film will arrive in 2026 and will be directed by Andy Serkis and produced by Peter Jackson. Titled The Hunt for Gollum, the pic will also star Serkis in his most iconic role to date. Plot details remain under wraps, but judging from the title this seems to be a prequel to Fellowship of the Ring, perhaps centered around Gandalf’s quest to find the former hobbit as the threat of Sauron’s re-emergence looms over the land.
The film will be the first of several feature film projects in the works at Warner Bros. It is currently in the early scripting phase. Original Lord of the Rings filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will be involved in every step of the way, according to Zaslav.
WB film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a statement on Thursday:
“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.”
Serkis added:
“Yesssss, Precious. 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…”
The Hunt for Gollum comes on top of two separate projects from Middle-earth coming out this year. A new season of The Rings of Power wrapped filming almost a year ago and should hit Prime Video in the second half of 2024. At this point, a reveal at Comic-Con seems likely. Additionally, an anime titled The War of the Rohirrim and set 200 years before The Hobbit will come out this Christmas from Warner Bros.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
