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The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum

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This article is about the 2027 film adaptation. For the 2009 fan film, see The Hunt for Gollum.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Information
DirectorAndy Serkis
WriterFran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Phoebe Gittins
Arty Papageorgiou
Based onThe Lord of the Rings
ProducerPeter Jackson
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Zane Weiner
StarringAndy Serkis
Ian McKellen
Kate Winslet
Jamie Dornan
Leo Woodall
production designDan Hennah (Production designer)
StudioWingNut films
Imaginarium
New Line Cinema[1]
DistributorWarner Bros. Pictures[1]
Released17 December 2027[2]
CountryNew Zealand[1]
LanguageEnglish
IMDbProfile

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is the title (originally, working title[3]) of a forthcoming film adaptation currently in pre-production and set for a 2027 release, the first of a planned series of Tolkien films to be produced by New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Brothers.[4]

The film will cover Gollum's travels after losing the Ring to Bilbo Baggins (as depicted in An Unexpected Journey), through Gandalf setting out to track the creature after Bilbo's Farewell Party (as depicted in The Fellowship of the Ring) and down to Gollum intercepting the Fellowship in Moria.

It will be directed by and star Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson's previous films, as well as directing second unit. Jackson will produce with his co-writing team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who will also write the screenplay with The War of the Rohirrim scribes Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.

The subject of this film is a longstanding fascination of Jackson's who developed it quite intensly in 2008 with Guillermo del Toro. The film is in preproduction with several cast and crew members from previous films already attached, including actor Elijah Wood, concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee and others.

Early Development

Although the film was only announced in 2023, it had a long gestation period with Peter Jackson, who considered filming this subject since circa 1997, and at least as late as July 2015. During 2008, in particular, the film was in development with a plot synopsis, a tentative budget and an initial cast and crew attached, and drew the attention of further talent like Viggo Mortensen, as well as the press. Elements of this proposed "bridge film" were eventually put into The Hobbit but mostly axed during the early months of the shoot. Jackson also negotiated in 2018 about producing a show for Amazon Prime about the related subject of the travels of young Aragorn, but ended up producing The War of the Rohirrim with New Line Cinema instead.

During The Lord of the Rings

Peter Jackson read The Lord of the Rings circa 1979, and he claims that he "always loved the concept that when Gandalf leaves Bag End he goes and joins up with Aragorn and the two of them hunt Gollum down."[5] This piece of backstory was also expanded upon in the radio serial, which Jackson was very familiar with. He and Fran Walsh first pitched a trilogy based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings around November 1995.[6][7][8] They may well have had the Gollum episode in mind at some time between that point and early 1997. So long as they intended to start with The Hobbit (up to early 1996), they will have been mindful of the need to connect the two novels, and while their treatment (mid 1997) doesn't seem to cover the Gollum episode, it already dramatizes the remainder of the backstory that's given in "The Shadow of the Past", "The Council of Elrond" and appendix B.[9] When the project expanded (September 1998) to three films, Jackson tried to finally incorporate this storyline - some eight pages' worth - but realized that he "just couldn't put [the Hunt for Gollum] into the movie".[5]

Peter nevertheless publicly expressed a desire to film "Gandalf and Aragorn hunting Gollum, and his capture by Orcs"[10] At the time, the idea was to shoot this as additional material and add it into the extended edition: although by early 2001 he would have realized this could not be accomodated in the pickups to The Fellowship of the Ring, in 2003 he would still half-jokingly talk about shooting more pickups to "fatten these films out without technically going beyond ‘The Lord of the Rings’ as the licensed property." Elsewhere in the commentary, he jokes about "spinoff" entries.[5] Other ideas for this treatment included Tom Bombadil[10] and the attack on Lorien, with the entire expansion estimated at around three hours' worth.[5]

By the end of 2001, The success of The Fellowship of the Ring emboldened Jackson[11] to pursue more films (he was also in discussions to "rekindle" King Kong at the time) and he had later discussed filming a "Lord of the Rings prequel", along with The Hobbit, with composer Howard Shore and executive producer Mark Ordesky.[12][13] At a later premiere, New Line's president Robert Shaye told Jackson's agent Ken Kamins that they "would want to have a conversation" about the two films.[14] The idea at the time was to incorporate Arwen as a female character[15] and produce both films back-to-back "in some short order"[14] after The Lord of the Rings, in order to "complete the set of films.”[15] Peter was referring to these two films, when talking in the behind the scenes documentaries in 2004 about "Maybe there'll be something we can do." Actors Andy Serkis,[16] Ian McKellen, producer Barrie Osborne[17] and concept artist Paul Lasaine all expressed interest at the time.

Also around this time, Andy Serkis goes into some detail in his book Gollum: Howe We Made Movie Magic into how he imagined Smeagol's personality and upbringing. This conception of Smeagol would become imperative for the film all those years later:

I was interested in trying to define Gollum's class and status in the community, and had thought that, coming from the wealthiest and largest Stoor family, he would probably never have really worked a day in his life. He probably skipped school and spent time squandering money that he had stolen from his grandmother's purse. It was a matriarchy and his grandmother was the head of his family, so I wondered how we might reflect this. We decided that some sort of neckerchief, maybe made of silk and a little flamboyant, might be a good idea. I liked the idea of carrying through the drug-addict metaphor, implying that he was like a young rich kid who had always had money in his pocket and was able to experiment with whatever took his fancy, like a Middle-earth version of a young playboy or a Victorian dandy. We also examined the idea of his curious and inquisitive nature. I always saw Sméagol as a loner, not particularly liked, a bit of a Billy-no-friends, and not very good at team sports. He would have been thought of as a bit weird, and he would have secretly dreamed up vengeful scenarios for all the other Stoor hobbits, who completely ignored him. So, to cope with being so introverted and alienated, he became a collector, obsessed with the "roots and beginnings" of things. Objects became more important than people: at least they couldn't hurt him. Physically: I gave him a stoop from constantly looking down. I imagined him to be fairly narcissistic, spending hours fascinating himself by staring at his own reflection in the water while he fished. We decided to display this obsessive behavior through shiny pau shell buttons and little trophies of fish bones tied to his belt, as if he were adorning himself with fetishlike status symbols. Although he was dysfunctional, he was not evil or malicious, just, as the Travis Bickle character says of himself in Taxi Driver, full of "morbid self-attention.[18]

While talking about The Hobbit in 16 September 2006, Jackson said they "have thought about it from time to time" and in fact "spent most of this morning" talking about the films. They talked of how "Elrond, Galadriel and Arwen could all feature"[19] and "Gollum's sneaking into Mordor and Aragorn protecting The Shire. That's what we'd do. Love to work with Viggo again".[19] Mortensen, hearing this remark in 2012, said it "sounds like a lot of fun".[20] At the time, Peter had a falling-out with New Line Cinema who had tipped Sam Raimi to direct both films.[21]

During The Hobbit

Since the rights to The Hobbit were split with Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, in March 2007 Jackson and Walsh pitched this to CEO Harry Sloan: he had already heard of it from New Line Cinema,[22] but Sloan was won over by Jackson's pitch, which was apparently very detailed.[23] By contrast, Shaye later said Jackson "hasn't told us too much about it."[24]

By December, both films were moving forward with a budget of $150 million each: the idea was that Jackson, Walsh and Boyens would write and produce and the films will be shot in 2009 for release in 2010 and 2011.[25] Robert Shaye, Michael Lynne and Mark Ordesky[26] were attached as executive producers until February, when they were replaced by Toby Emmerich (previously head of production since 2001) and Carolyn Blackwood. Actor Ian Mckellen,[27] assistant Matthew Dravitzky,[28] composer Howard Shore[29][30], Weta Workshop[31] and Weta FX[32] were attached to the project. Although Jackson hadn't ruled out directing - he later aired the notion of shooting second unit[33][34] - he soon picked Guillermo del Toro to direct.[35]

Subsequently, actors Andy Serkis,[34] Ian Holm[36]; concept artists Alan Lee and John Howe; prosthetics supervisor Gino Acevedo[32] were all attached. They had approached Grant Major but he declined[37] and hopped onboard Green Lantern with costume designer Ngila Dickson: they were substituted by Dan Hennah[38] and Kate Hawley.[39] Actors Martin Freeman[40] and Hugo Weaving;[41] as well as del Toro's regular collaborators (including artists Wayne Barlowe and Francisco Ruiz Velasco[42]) were also being sought beginning at this time. Jackson had first seen Lee Pace - which he would cast as Thranduil later - around this time, as well.

"We got really excited," said del Toro, "because this second film is not a ‘tag on’, it’s not ‘filler,’ it’s an integral part of telling the story of those 50 years of history lost in the narrative".[43][44] Although he had a radical new vision for the designs in the first film, [45] del Toro intended to use the second film to affect a gradual change of style towards that of The Lord of the Rings: "We have to recreate a lot of the stuff they did on the trilogy," he said: helpfully, Jackson had kept the Bag End and Rivendell sets, and they set about rebuilding Hobbiton.[38]

del Toro also rewatched the extended editions with Jackson, Walsh and Boyens and intended to watch the making-ofs, dailies "the camera reports... everything," particularly for The Fellowship of the Ring.[46] The remastering of The Lord of the Rings was also begun around this time. This was done because del Toro felt that it "has to evolve into the lensing, the color palette, the texture palette, and the feel of the trilogy…"[47] partially for this purpose, a break was to be scheduled partway through the shoot,[48] which was estimated at over 370 days.[48]

Guillermo insisted the second film would add to the series.[49] He said "it’s also expanding and illuminating some of the aspects of the trilogy in a slightly different way, like same characters in a different environment. I find that very attractive."[47] The idea was that the first film would be a retelling of The Hobbit, including the bulk of the Dol Guldur storyline, up to Smaug's death: the second would wrap-up the remainder of The Hobbit in its first half, and concern itself with the Hunt for Gollum and other "bridging" plot threads in its second half.[50]

Although del Toro predicted the second film would require the most work,[51] both he[52] and Jackson showed a particular eagerness towards it, with Guillermo calling it a "treasure trove of possibilities."[53] Jackson was also "really looking forward to developing Film Two. It gives us a freedom that we haven't really had on our Tolkien journey."[34] del Toro concluded that "the promise of that land is absolutely mind-boggling!"[53]

Referring specifically to Gollum's part in the events, del Toro said "Gollum has a rather fascinating arch to go through and his alliance to Shelob or his period of imprisonment in Thranduil's". Jackson added that "There's an awful lot of incident that happens during that 60 year gap. At this stage, we're not imagining a film that literally covers 60 years, like a bio-pic or documentary. We would figure out what happens during that 60 years, and choose one short section of time to drop in and dramatise for the screen". Both filmmakers said they agreed that "apart from extreme circumstances, we would never recast a character who appeared in the LOTR trilogy".[34] Jackson later remarked that, in some cases, they'd sooner write around a character than recast the part.[54]

As of the formulation of these comments in July, del Toro said the second film is "too early"[47][55] in its development process to know precisely what it might entail, estimating that it would take six months to formulate the storyline for the film.[56] By September, however, del Toro claimed they "found what reverberated."[50] Guillermo had expressed reservations about the term "bridge film" from the outset, but by now he and Jackson disabused of the term completely, having come to see the films as five undifferentiated parts of a greater whole.

Although they apparently made an outline,[36][57] it seems the film went no further than this. Up until this point, del Toro had been video-conferencing with Jackson and the other collaborators, meeting in person every three weeks.[58] By the time he arrived to concentrate on writing the story treatment in November 2008[59][60] the contents of the "bridge" film were being gradually edged-out by the contents of The Hobbit, to the point that by the time the completed treatment was greenlit in April 2009[61] the films could only be described as a two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, albeit with elements of the bridge film "integrated."[62] Although John Howe apparently sent del Toro some sketches,[31] and Howard Shore had musical ideas,[63][64] no more work was done on the bridge film. At this time, a fan film on the same subject was released, followed shortly by a fan film about Aragorn's errantries. The latter of this gained a measure of approbation from Jackson's camp.

Even so, elements of the bridge film clung to the project for a long time: in 2013 Philippa Boyens said, probably referring to the preproduction period, that "When we started structuring this trilogy we honestly thought about telling some of that. How Bilbo becomes the uncle of Frodo and take care of him. The story of Gollum…"[65] Casting calls had been issued for the roles of Primula Brandybuck and Drogo Baggins,[66] with Primula said to be "Prone to letting words and thoughts tumble out of her mouth without pause" while Drogo was "well known around The Shire and is a bit of a ladies man." While Caroline Grace-Cassidy was considered for Primula, Ryan Gage was cast in the role of Drogo and remained attached to it well into shooting, only being recast as Alfrid around May.[67] Although both parts were described as "leads" Boyens remembers Alfrid, itself a small role, being bigger than Drogo. The roles of Worrywort and Frodo, which was originally rumoured to include him "moving to live at Bag End after the untimely drowning of Drogo and Primula" were probably rewritten into their present form around that time.[68]

They had scouted locations for the Barrow Downs, possibly with a connection to the aforementioned "Aragorn protecting the Shire" plot point.[69] More scenes were planned for the Dol Guldur story and the Orcs: they had gone as far as designing a young Gothmog who would participate in the concluding battle, but didn't utilize him.[70] Another storyline concerned Itarille (later Tauriel) and her romance with an Elf lord of Rivendell: clearly an outgrowth of the original idea of featuring Arwen in the film. Aidan Turner seems to have read for the part of this Elf Lord. Indeed, Jackson recalled in 2015 that "We did try to figure out a way to get a cameo, even if it was a cameo, for Aragorn and actually for Arwen, too: we tried to have Liv Tyler in the film".[70] Boyens remarked in 2013 that they envisioned Aragorn being "quite young" in the film, but concluded that Viggo "could have absolutely played" him at the time. "It was incredibly tempting."[71] It's unclear when the idea finally died out: Philippa claims they "always" wanted to have him in the film, and the scene "invoking Aragorn" was scripted in early 2013, as a "homage" to their earlier plans.

Viggo Mortensen had been interested in the project since 2007.[72][73] Although it was reported that del Toro had held conversations with him[72][74] these appear to have not taken place before 2010. In 2008 Viggo said he would "rather do it myself than see another actor finish the job for me,"[73][75][76] saying "it would be fun."[77] Other actors from The Lord of the Rings have also expressed interest in appearing in the film, including Liv Tyler,[78] Cate Blanchett,[53] Dominic Monaghan,[79] Sean Astin,[80][73] John Noble and Sean Bean,[81][82] Christopher Lee,[83][84] Brad Dourif,[85] John Rhys-Davies[86] and Elijah Wood.[87][88]

Around 2010, Mortensen recieved an availability call[89] from Jackson: "I said sure, if Aragorn is supposed to be in the bridge story, because he’s not in The Hobbit."[90][91] Informed that they "can take certain liberties" he said he'd "love to revisit him."[92] However, Jackson later revealed that since that call, they "could think of no way of doing it".[70] Having no further contact, and knowing that "Orlando Bloom and Cate Blanchett shot something,"[73]Mortensen concluded in November 2011 that "Aragorn is half elf [sic] and also lives a couple hundred years or more and he could be in a bridge, but I have to assume it isn't going to happen".[93] Although he still has misgivings - "It would make sense if Aragorn was part of the story and he's not"[94] - he said he would still be open to playing Aragorn "if it seemed sensible to do so".[90]

After The Hobbit

Conversations about making the "bridge film" as a third instalment[95] continued well into 2010:[96] In 2012, Jackson had revealed that "a third movie has always been in discussion."[97] These conversations resumed - now with the film situated as a fourth movie - as The Hobbit was winding down in 2013. Says Boyens: "There’s enough story there to make a bridge movie, you know, there’s 60 years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and a lot of things happened."[65] In the director's commentary to The Battle of the Five Armies in 2015, Boyens and Jackson remained open to the idea of making more films, and mused about what Jackson jokingly calls "A fictitious film 3.5" which Boyens goes on to call "The Hunt for Gollum".[70] Boyens said it could include "a few other things that go on which are really interesting" like Saruman's search for the Ring. She elaborates:

Aragorn really is one who tracks Gollum and ends up...and finds him eventually in the Dead Marshes, and he's taken to the Elves. And he's taken to the Elves, and because of the kindness of the Elves - and Legolas is one of his keepers... in Mirkwood, and through their kindness he actually manages to escape. Or has he escaped? Or was he let loose?[70]

Jackson had kept the possibility of returning to Middle-earth open[70] but Boyens revealed that they "had zero expectations of going back to this."[98][99] Their ultimate decision to return to this premise may have been stirred, in part, by other projects: first, Jackson had seen the in-development video game Shadow of Mordor, on which Weta Workshop and others from Jackson's crew had worked, and which had nestled itself into the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.[100]

Shortly afterwards, when the Tolkien Estate (still nominally under Christopher Tolkien) shopped the television rights, the idea of doing a show about young Aragorn was pitched, first by Netflix, and then - at the suggestion of the Russo brothers[101] - by Amazon Prime Video.[102] Upon hearing this, Boyens' mind immediately went to the period of the hunt: "If you're telling the [story of] him hunting Gollum, you're getting closer to Viggo."[103] She and Jackson had also expressed interest in the potential of Aragorn's younger days and life in Rivendell: "He's probably going to have to start young,"[103] remarked Boyens, concluding that "A lot of the early Aragorn story hasn't been told."[104] Mortesen also got wind of the rumours and said he's open to reprising his role.[105]

Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood from New Line Cinema were brought into the fold in the hopes of cooperating on the show. In early 2018 lawyer Peter Nelson set-up "dialogue between Jackson and Amazon" to participate as executive producer.[106][107][108] Preoccupied with Mortal Engines and They Shall Not Grow Old, Jackson proposed in June 2018 to review the scripts and put "the creative team together."[109] In July, Amazon landed on John D. Payne and Patrick McKay as showrunners, and before any work could be done, a regime change in Amazon Prime Video[110] in early 2019 resulted in New Line Cinema being demoted to a "minority licensee stakeholder."[111] Although the showrunners had asked to meet Jackson,[110] COVID prevented this from taking place.[112] While the show used a substantial number of his crew, Jackson and Walsh were reportedly "very frustrated that so many believed they were involved with Amazon’s show."[111] Boyens had avoided watching the show to prevent "cross-contamination."[113] Since then, the show had left Jackson's home country of New Zealand.

Already in 2019, the show's development had galvanized Emmerich and Blackwood to pursue an animated film with Middle-earth Enterprises (who were not involved in the show) and Jackson. The bridge film might have been the "CG-animated" story that New Line "had been exploring with Sir Peter Jackson" but it failed to materialize and they decided to pursue The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim[114]. Later on, Emmerich and Blackwood were replaced by Michael de Luca and Pam Abdy, who were "striving to keep Amazon from blurring the lines too much between" the show and the films.[111] Other projects like Tales of the Shire, the remastering of the six films to Ultra High Definition and renovations of Hobbiton were begun shortly afterwards, as well.

After this long gestation period, The Hunt for Gollum entered development once again in 2022. Andy Serkis was attached as director in October 2023 and story meetings occurred as early as May 2024, along with early availability calls to actors like Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen between that time and early September. By that point, the writing of the treatment was underway, followed by the first draft in January-May. After some crew hiring in August, pre-production started in early September 2025 ahead of shooting in May 2026.

Development

In 2022 the new administration of Middle-earth Enterprises expressed a desire to make more films, including ones "based on iconic characters, such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters."[115] Jackson, Walsh and Boyens kept updated throughout the negotiations to extend New Line Cinema's lease on the rights.[4]

Having "really enjoyed working with Kenji Kamiyama, who directed War of the Rohirrim," Jackson signed on to produce two new films: Boyens denied[116] rumours that this involved splitting the Gollum story,[117][118] and at various times her and Jackson expressed interest in subjects varying from the War in the North, Young Aragorn, or certain vignettes from Rohan or Gondor's history,[119] but they settled on a retelling of the missing early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring, developed under the title Shadow of the Past, whose script is probably one of the other two scripts Jackson had been working on.[120]

Signing on the films was done with the intention to jump-start a new slate of Lord of the Rings prequels for New Line Cinema,[121][122] with Boyens also expressing interest in making an "epic trilogy", probably about the Angmar War.[119] However, having developed the Gollum premise for so long, they decided to start with it. Asked about unrealized projects in 2024, Boyens observed that "there's a lot of that in The Hunt for Gollum."[123] Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, had directed second unit on The Return of the King and The Hobbit[98] and had since become a director in his own right, as well as narrating audiobooks of Tolkien's novels. Jackson approached Andy around October 2023.[122] While developing the story, they already made availability checks to key cast and crew members.

Writing

Story meetings have happened at least as early as May 2024[98] and by July they were about to start writing,[124] with Serkis spotted at the Hobbiton set in November with writers Boyens and Arty Papageorgiou, producers Zane Weiner[125] and Carlos Ramirez Laloli.[126] By December they had been in the process of writing the story treatment.[127] Serkis later estimated they would finish writing by the middle of the year - executive Pamela Abdy since put the completion of the script at May[128] - and begin "scouting locations and building [sets]" with shooting due to begin towards the beginning of 2026.[129] As a result, the release date for the film was ultimately delayed from 2026 to 17 December 2027.[2][130]

A draft of the screenplay had been sent to de Luca and Abdy in May, probably prior to the investor meeting on the 8th, when Warner's CEO David Zaslav announced the official release date.[131][132] Serkis had since revealed that the film is due to start pre production in August[133] - when the film started hiring crew - then ammended to "late August to early September"[121], with Serkis ultimately arriving in Wellington circa 8 September to begin work on the film.[134] Serkis had left New Zealand during the holiday season, attending the premiere of "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" before flying back to New Zealand: en rote he landed in Los Angeles.[135]

Pre production

Serkis had further said preproduction will last for six months,[136] with McKellen later confirming it will start filming in May[137] for an extended shooting period:[138] This puts the beginning of filming in New Zealand winter and, deducting the holidays, six months after Andy's arrival. Location scouting may have taken place at Hawke's Bay as early as June[139] and later at the Waikato.[140] They had also watched the films sometime prior to November.[141] Serkis also spoke appreciatively of Jackson's penchant for behind the scenes extras,.[133][142] and Peter himself had since confirmed they will do "little blogs." In October, Andy revealed that they're developing prosthetics.[143]

Since Elijah Wood, slated to appear in the film, is on tour through to early September,[144] his scenes might be scheduled for New Zealand summer, which could suggest shooting in situ in Hobbiton, presumably depicting Frodo dallying outside Bag End while Bilbo and Gandalf argue within, as depicted in The Fellowship of the Ring. Ian McKellen is also hoping to join the production in New Zealand during July.[145]

Crew

The film, said to be "one of the most expensive feature films to be shot in New Zealand"[146] is expected to draft alums of the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit and War of the Rohirrim (many of whom will have also worked on The Rings of Power Season One and other projects) working in the Wellington and greater New Zealand screen sector.[147][129] Crewing began in early August, with Wood since confirming the involvement of production designer Dan Hennah,[148] and set decorator Ra Vincent might also be involved.[143] Although Janet Brennan-Croft acted as Tolkien consultant on previous films, Beppe Pezzini will fill this role for this film.[149]

IMDb credits Bob Buck as a costume designer for the film: it remains to be seen if Ngila Dickson, having just wrapped Predator: Badlands with Weta Workshop, might return. Kate Hawley, who was attached to del Toro's version of the film, is unlikely to take part due to work on "Bad Bridgets."[150] Liz Mullane and Rachel Bullock head the New Zealand casting sweep. Both WetaFX and Weta Workshop are confirmed for the project,[151] as are Gino Acevedo,[152] John Howe and Alan Lee.[153] Peter King is supervising hairstyling and makeup, while IMDb also credits Joseph Letteri and Eric Saindon as Visual Effects Supervisors. In April - by which point a composer was already said to be attached to the project - Howard Shore said he was interested to "see how that all works out."[154][155]

As early as October, Serkis suggested that they're "doing camera tests."[143] This is said to include miniature photography, with Alex Funke said to participate, even if only in an advisory position. On the live action side, although Robert Richardson had been rumoured as camerman, he will be preoccupied with Antoine Fuqua's Hannibal epic.[143][156] While the film was in the story conference stage in July 2024, Richardson said he had "a number" of projects "on the constantly-shifting horizon of the film industry."[157]

The film is a co-production of Jackson's WingNut films and Serkis' Imaginarium. Serkis will executive produce with his Imaginarium partner John Cavendish and Jackson's agent Ken Kamins.[1] IMDb also credits studio chiefs Michael de Luca (who helped produce The Lord of the Rings), Pam Abdy and David Zaslav as executive producers[151] and Boyens mentioned Warners' business consultant Alan Horn (who had produced The Hobbit) as a collaborator, but these credits have yet to become official.[98]

Cast

With Serkis due to star as Gollum, approaches had been made to Sir Ian McKellen[158] and Viggo Mortensen to reprise Gandalf and Aragorn, respectively. McKellen said he's in talks to reprise "a little bit" of Gandalf,[159] in New Zealand.[160] As of December, the contracts with McKellen and Wood hadn't been finalized,[161] but McKellen expressed a desire to return to New Zealand for filming. Liv Tyler, Evangeline Lilly and, especially, Orlando Bloom have also expressed interest in reprising their parts,[162] while Dominic Monaghan expressed a desire to visit the set.[163] Lilly had proceeded to do so, but indicated that she will have no further involvement with the project. Orcs are set to appear in the film, with Shane Rangi and Lawrence Makoare having reportedly been contacted.[164] Boyens' comments about seeing the interiors of Barad Dur might suggest the involvement of Benedict Cumberbatch.[165]

Serkis, Jackson and Boyens had all spoke to Mortensen,[166] who had previously said he'd be "open to it" if it makes sense for "the age I am now"[167] but after Boyens pitched it to him as "Digital make-up" they agreed he'd wait to read the script: With the approach to McKellen happening sometime between June[168] and September,[158] the approach to Mortensen may have taken place in mid-June, just prior to an interview in which Mortensen said "The script is the most important thing to me", seemingly no longer harping on the age quota.[169] Boyens said they need to "drag" him.[165] In the event, the cost of the deaging seemed too steep[170][171] and while they started looking for a younger "Strider", they ended casting Jamie Dornan. Mortensen had indicated he'd be interested in appearing in later film projects if they were "true to Tolkien."[172]

While in London for The War of the Rohirrim premiere, Boyens also "had lunch with an Elf lord" who "would fall into that story."[173] Although this could refer to Bloom or even Marton Csokas, Lee Pace was the most likely as he was shooting The Running Man in London at the time.[174] Serkis had since divulged that they expect "some of the cast who were originally in" The Lord of the Rings, as well as "some incredible new talent."[175] Serkis had since reaffirrmed that he would "love the old cast" back.[135] McKellen had since confirmed that Gandalf and Frodo, surely to be played by himself and Wood, are scheduled to reappear in the piece.[137] McKellen, Wood and Lee were officially announced for CinemaCon.

Casting seems to have started in November,[161] with young boys auditioning for the boy Smeagol[176] and two of his fellow Stoor riverfolk - a young girl and a young adult boy - in what looks like a setup for Smeagol's preoccupation with a birtday present. Out of the actors that originally auditioned for a younger Strider, Leo Woodall, was cast in the role of a fellow ranger, Halvard, presumably based on the character of Halbarad.

Other roles auditioned for include women in their thirties and fifities: the latter is said to be Smeagol's grandmother, now confirmed as the "lead" role of Marigol, with Kate Winslet relocating to New Zealand for five months. Winslet had previously been considered, at least by the studio, for Eowyn. The thirties' part[177] was reportedly circled by Anya Taylor-Joy. Some presume this to be Arwen, but if so the quota is older than Liv Tyler, who was 23 at the time of The Lord of the Rings.[178]

Plotline

The exact events the film covers remain undisclosed. There's ambiguity concerning both the exact timeframe for the film, and whether it will focus more on Gollum or Aragorn. An official "blurb" for the movie reads: "The pic explores Aragorn’s adventures as a ranger, specifically his quest to capture Gollum between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring, tracking him to keep the Ring’s location from Sauron."[179] A more extended synopsis had also been circulating:

Before the Fellowship, one creature's obsession holds the key to Middle-earth's survival -- or its demise. In The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, we meet young Smeagol -- an outsider drawn to trinkets and mischief -- long before The One Ring consumed him and began his tragic descent into the tortured, deceitful creature Gollum. With the ring lost and carried away by Bilbo Baggins, Gollum finds himself compelled to leave his cave in search of it. Gandalf the Grey calls upon Aragorn, still known as the ranger Strider, to track the elusive creature whose knowledge of the whereabouts of the ring could tip the balance toward the Dark Lord Sauron.

Set in the shadowed time between Bilbo's birthday disappearance and the Fellowship's formation, this perilous journey through Middle-earth's darkest corners reveals untold truths, tests the resolve of its future king, and explores the fractured soul and backstory of Gollum, one of Tolkien's most enigmatic characters.

Directed by original cast member Andy Serkis, produced by Peter Jackson, and written & produced by Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens -- the creative team behind the Oscar-winning trilogy -- this live-action movie bridges the beloved films with new characters, returning heroes, and a deeply engaging origin story that resets the stage for, and changes everything you know about the legendary Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Strictly speaking, Aragorn's hunt for Gollum begins during the events depicted in Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, and in October, Boyens said the story "falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria".[116] Boyens added that the role of Aragorn is "very central" to the movie.[165] Andy called the storyline "pivotal."[180] Ian McKellen had described the plot as "Aragorn trying to find Gollum with Gandalf directing operations from the sidelines."[160]

However, a hunt for Gollum is begun by the Silvan Elves after Gollum first leaves the mountains in search of Bilbo, and in December Jackson said the film "tells us what happened to Gollum between The Hobbit - end of The Hobbit - and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings".[181] Serkis had since confirmed this timeframe: "It sits, kind of, in the timeline between The Hobbit - between losing the Ring to Bilbo Baggins - and The Lord of the Rings."[121] Dol Guldur, the Nazgul and Orcs are all said to potentially play part in the film.

Boyens also alluded to other storylines: "we are finding a lot of threads of story that are surprising in there when you really go in there and examine it".[182] Events as varied as Aragorn's sojourn in Lórien with Arwen, the fall of Balin's folk, Boromir's quest for Rivendell and much else occur concurrent to the time of the Hunt.[183] "You see the layers and layers of story that’s underneath there and how interconnected they all are", she adds.[166] Jackson also made comments to this effect: "Some pretty interesting stuff happens that we reference in passing in The Lord of the Rings, but there’s a lot of more deep detail to it."[181]

Boyens adds that "We get to go to some places that we've never been before" in Middle-earth." One such place - only glimpsed in Fellowship of the Ring - is the interiors of Barad Dur.[165] Both she and Serkis alluded to new characters[175][129] and new dramatic situations, saying it's "surprising"[98][136][182] and could be enjoyed be people wo don't know the novels.[184] Boyens also shared that one of the practicalities they were busy figuring out in the writing is "How does he [Aragorn] pick up his scent? How does he find his trail, how does it happen?"[185]

Cast

Actor Role
Andy Serkis Gollum & Smeagol[1][186]
Ian McKellen Gandalf[137][186]
Kate Winslet Marigol[186]
Jamie Dornan Strider[186]
Leo Woodall Halvard[186]
Lee Pace Thranduil[186]
Elijah Wood Frodo Baggins[137][186]


References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Klein Felt, "Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum Movie Gets Release Window from Andy Serkis" 27 Feb 2025, The Direct, accessed 27 February 2025
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  164. ↑ @thelegacyofnerd (8 October 2025). "BREAKING: ‘The Hunt For Gollum’ Begins Filming in May 2026". X (formerly known as Twitter)
  165. ↑ 165.0 165.1 165.2 165.3 eCartelera (10 December 2024). "Philippa Boyens ('ESDLA: LA GUERRA DE LOS ROHIRRIM'): "Queríamos que se sintiera como algo nuevo"". YouTube
  166. ↑ 166.0 166.1 Rodrigo Perez (23 December 2024). "‘The War Of The Rohirrim’: Philippa Boyens On The New Anime, ‘The Hunt For Gollum’ & The Future Of ‘The Lord of the Rings’". The Playlist
  167. ↑ Rafael Motamayor (28 May 2024). "Viggo Mortensen re-used Aragorn's sword in new movie The Dead Don't Hurt “Because it's really good”". GQ
  168. ↑ Dominic Maxwell (8 June 2024). "Ian McKellen: ‘When a script arrives, I think this might be my last job’". The Times of London
  169. ↑ Georg Szalai (30 June 2024). "Viggo Mortensen on Respecting Audiences, How Scripts Are Key “Unless I’m Broke,” New ‘LOTR’ Films". The Hollywood Reporter
  170. ↑ ViewerAnon (9 December 2025). "I can confirm this". X (formerly known as Twitter)
  171. ↑ Quentin Couprie (13 December 2025). "A Cult Actor from The Lord of the Rings on the Departure? The Question Arises for the Prequel Dedicated to Gollum". 3dvf.com. Retrieved 3DVF
  172. ↑ Jacob Stolworthy (7 June 2024). "Go to Bat with Viggo Mortensen: My films that deserve more love". The Independent
  173. ↑ Matt Graf (12 December 2024). ""Philippa Boyens teases an “elf lord” returning for Hunt for Gollum! "". Instagram
  174. ↑ Jen Juneau (14 November 2024). "Glen Powell Films Running Man Remake in London 37 Years After Original Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie". People
  175. ↑ 175.0 175.1 James Burns (11 April 2025,). "Indiana Comic Con: Andy Serkis Full Panel". Jedi News
  176. ↑ Caleb Williams (16 January 2026). "Small Tidbit.....". X (formerly known as Twitter)
  177. ↑ Caleb Williams (5 March 2026). "‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ Lead Female Characters Casting Are Underway (EXCLUSIVE)". Knight Edge Media
  178. ↑ Chen Geller (11 March 2026). "On Aragorn, Stoors and other castings". Medium
  179. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (19 January 2026). "‘Lord Of The Rings’ Trilogy 25th Anniversary Event Rings Up $11M In Worldwide Box Office". Deadline Hollywood
  180. ↑ u/Chen_Geller (30 July 2025). "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum - Andy Serkis says "this part of the story is pivotal"". Reddit
  181. ↑ 181.0 181.1 Mitchell Hageman (11 December 2024). "Red carpet premiere for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim". New Zealand Herald
  182. ↑ 182.0 182.1 Ben Pearson (13 December 2024). "War Of The Rohirrim's Philippa Boyens Reveals Details About The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum [Exclusive Interview"]. /Film
  183. ↑ u/Chen_Geller (21 February 2025). "Building Bridges: So, what happens between the trilogies that The Hunt for Gollum could possibly cover?". Reddit
  184. ↑ Emanuele Bigi (27 June 2025). "Andy Serkis, da Gollum a regista: «Dirigerò “Il Signore degli Anelli” e tornerò con Batman»". Amica
  185. ↑ by Rotem Rusak (19 December 2024). "Philippa Boyens Talks the Future of THE LORD OF THE RINGS Movies and Naming a Tolkien Character in THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM". Nerdist
  186. ↑ 186.0 186.1 186.2 186.3 186.4 186.5 186.6 Twitter, We’ve been waiting for you, precious. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum only in theaters 17 December 2027. by Warner Bros.
Licensed screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's works
Animation The Hobbit (1967) · The Hobbit (1977, Rankin and Bass) · The Lord of the Rings (1978) · The Return of the King (1980, Rankin and Bass) · The War of the Rohirrim (2024, New Line Cinema)
Live-action
(New Line Cinema) 		The Lord of the Rings series The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) · The Two Towers (2002) · The Return of the King (2003)
The Hobbit series An Unexpected Journey (2012) · The Desolation of Smaug (2013) · The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Other films The Hunt for Gollum (2027, upcoming)
TV series The Rings of Power (2022-present)
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