Lord of the Rings fans are going to have to wait a little bit longer to return to Warner Bros. and New Line‘s Middle-earth.
Per The Direct, Andy Serkis revealed during his Fan Expo Vancouver 2025 panel on February 23 that The Hunt for Gollum was not going to make its 2026 release date. “Yeah, it is not 2026. It was originally going to be December 2026. It is going to be December 2027,” Serkis shared. An exact release date for the movie has not been announced yet by Warner Bros.
Serkis continued: “We are right at the beginning of the writing process. We will be prepping later this year. Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs into that December 2027 release date.”
The Hunt for Gollum will be the first new live-action installment in Peter Jackson‘s Middle-earth franchise since the conclusion of The Hobbit trilogy in 2014. Serkis will direct the movie and reprise his role as Gollum. Jackson is on board as a producer.
Warner Bros. and New Line’s The Lord of the Rings franchise began with the original trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films — The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003) — based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema, The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made, receiving high praise from critics and grossing just shy of $3 billion at the worldwide box office.
In December 2024, The Hunt for Gollum co-writer/producer Philippa Boyens revealed the first story details for the movie to The Playlist, sharing that Gollum begins with Gandalf sending Aragorn on a quest to find Gollum, who the wizard fears may reveal information about the One Ring to Sauron. Boyens also revealed that Gollum will be a midquel, taking place at the same time as The Fellowship of the Ring, after Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday party but before the Mines of Moria.
Boyens also confirmed that Gandalf and Aragorn will appear in The Hunt for Gollum, with the hope being that both Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen will reprise their respective roles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is expected to hit theaters in December 2027.
Do you have any interest in another Lord of the Rings movie?
