Warner Bros. and New Line are making new Lord of the Rings movies, beginning with the tentatively titled The Hunt for Gollum and later continuing with other unannounced projects in the future. Writer Philippa Boyens recently cleared up some confusion about The Hunt for Gollum, confirming it’s not going to be split into two films.
“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films” she told Empire. The Oscar-winner said this was a “genuine misunderstanding” of what Ian McKellen said in September. At the time, McKellen said he’s been informed about two new Lord of the Rings films, and the internet ran with this quote and took it to mean The Hunt for Gollum was going to be a two-parter, even though McKellen never said that.
Boyens said she is working on “two different live-action films” at the moment, the first being The Hunt for Gollum and a second to be announced later. There is no word yet on what the next film after The Hunt for Gollum could be, but films based on characters like Aragorn, Gandalf, and Galadriel are possible.
Not much is known about The Hunt for Gollum, but Boyens teased that it’s “quite an intense story.” She revealed it will take place after Bilbo’s 111th birthday party and before the Mines of Moria sequence from Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings movie. “It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature,” she said of Gollum.
After Bilbo’s party, Gandalf comes to realize that Bilbo’s ring is actually the One Ring, and he later calls on Aragorn to help track Gollum down to stop him from revealing where the ring is.
Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the original Peter Jackson movies, is coming back to play Gollum again and direct the film.
Jackson, Boyens, and Fran Walsh–the Oscar-winning trio behind the original Lord of the Rings films–are coming back for The Hunt for Gollum. Warner Bros. Discovery is targeting a 2026 release.
The Hunt for Gollum might still be some time off, but the next Lord of the Rings movie, The War of the Rohirrim, comes to theaters this December. The animated film tells the story of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) and Princess Hera (Gaia Wise).
On the TV front, Prime Video’s The Rings of Power recently wrapped up its second season. It’s yet to be officially renewed for Season 3, but that should happen soon.
