Lord of the Rings’ Next Movie Gets an Extremely Disappointing Update From Andy Serkis

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The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum was supposed to hit theaters in 2026. According to director Andy Serkis, that is no longer the case.

Speaking at 2025’s Fan Expo Vancouver on Feb. 23, Serkis, who will be reprising his role as the titular Gollum/Smeagol, revealed that the movie’s release date has unfortunately been pushed back by an entire year. “Yeah, it is not 2026. It was originally going to be December 2026. It is going to be December 2027,” he said via The Direct.

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Serkis also offered some insight into the movie’s production process. “We are right at the beginning of the writing process,” the filmmaker explained. “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 is inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel.

The upcoming movie will be written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou. Boyens previously revealed that the plot will run parallel to the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and takes place after Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday party and before the Mines of Moria. The story begins with Gandalf sending Aragorn to find Gollum before he reveals information about the One Ring to Sauron.

The Hunt for Gollum Will Be More Than An Origin Story

“Yes, it’s deliberately the bridging film and the story we wanted to tell,” Boyens explained. She also explained that the story is about more than the titular character. “It does center on Gollum/Smeagol, so it’s a little bit of an origin story going on, but when you delve into it, as you do with anything Professor Tolkien wrote, you see the layers and layers of story that’s underneath there and how interconnected they all are.”

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In December 2024, Boyens confirmed that Aragorn would also appear in The Hunt for Gollum. If Viggo Mortensen has no interest in reprising the role, the part will likely be recast. “That’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively, and we are at a very early stage,” she said. “I’ve spoken to Viggo, Andy has spoken to him, Peter [Jackson] has spoken to him, we’ve all spoken to each other and honestly, I cannot imagine anyone else playing Aragorn, but it will be completely and entirely up to Viggo.”

Although The Hunt for Gollum is delayed, fans can look forward to a separate animated Lord of the Rings prequel called The War of the Rohirrim. The story takes place 183 years before the original trilogy and follows the legendary king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), who, along with his family, must defend their kingdom from an invading army of Dunlendings. The project is directed by Kenji Kamiyama from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.

Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will hit theaters worldwide in December 2027.

Source: The Direct