Warner Bros. can’t leave a cash cow unmilked for too long.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has announced, during the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call, that the studio is “now in the early stages of script development” for new Lord of the Rings movies, which will “explore storylines yet to be told.”
The first movie, which is targeting a 2026 release, currently has the working title Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, will return to star in the new live-action movie. He will also direct the feature. Peter Jackson will produce, while his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will write the screenplay.
“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!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement. “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!”
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 film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”
The Hunt for Gollum announcement comes as Warner Bros. prepares to release a stand-alone animated prequel film to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy later this year. Titled The War of the Rohirrim, the film tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, a legendary King of Rohan who must defend against an army of Dunlendings. He becomes the namesake for the stronghold of Helm’s Deep.
What do you think about Jackson and Serkis reuniting for another Lord of the Rings movie? Do you think it’s necessary?
