I am thrilled that The Hunt for Gollum is officially bringing movie audiences back to Middle Earth again, with Andy Serkis returning as Gollum! Serkis is also stepping behind the camera to direct this next live-action film in the cherished Lord of the Rings Movie Franchise. The film is now in production in New Zealand, and Warner Bros. has begun giving fans their first genuine looks behind the scenes. We have Andy Serkis back in his motion-capture suit, returning cast members from Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films, new characters, an official release date, and – most recently – the first official photographs from the set.
This page will serve as our ongoing guide to The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, concentrating on confirmed announcements, official photographs, official videos, and information directly connected to J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
No fan trailers presented as real footage. No AI-generated “first looks.” No rumors presented as facts.
As new official information becomes available, we’ll continue updating this page.
When Will The Hunt for Gollum Be Released?
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 17, 2027.
The movie is being produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens returning to the Middle-earth film franchise.
Andy Serkis will direct the movie while once again performing the role of Gollum/Sméagol.
That makes this a particularly interesting return to Middle-earth. Serkis isn’t simply returning to the character he helped make famous—he is now directing the story built around him.
Production Is Officially Underway
Warner Bros. officially announced the beginning of production in July 2026 with a behind-the-scenes video featuring Andy Serkis.
The footage shows Serkis arriving for the first day of production, reviewing the script and then putting on the familiar motion-capture suit used to transform his performance into Gollum.
And then it happens.
The posture changes. The movements change. The voice returns.
Gollum is back.
WATCH: The Hunt for Gollum – Official Start of Production Video
The official video also confirms one of the most encouraging aspects of the production: filming has returned to New Zealand, the landscape that became synonymous with Middle-earth in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.
Andy Serkis Is Directing The Hunt for Gollum
For longtime fans, Andy Serkis directing the movie may be just as significant as his return as Gollum.
Serkis first portrayed Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King, after initially providing the character’s voice and motion-capture work during production of the trilogy. He later returned as Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
This time, he is responsible for bringing the entire story to the screen.
Peter Jackson is returning as a producer alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Walsh and Boyens are also part of the screenwriting team with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
That means The Hunt for Gollum is not a reboot of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth. It is being developed as another story within that established cinematic world.
Who Is Returning for The Hunt for Gollum?
Several familiar faces from the previous Middle-earth films are officially returning.
Andy Serkis – Gollum / Sméagol
Serkis returns to the character at the center of the story while simultaneously directing the film.
Ian McKellen – Gandalf
Sir Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf, an especially logical inclusion considering Gandalf’s central role in discovering the truth about Bilbo’s mysterious ring and investigating Gollum’s history.
Elijah Wood – Frodo Baggins
Elijah Wood is returning as Frodo. Warner Bros.’ first official set imagery has already taken audiences back to the Shire and Bag End.
Exactly how Frodo fits into a story that primarily takes place before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring remains one of the intriguing unanswered questions surrounding the movie.
Lee Pace – Thranduil
Lee Pace returns as Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm.
Thranduil’s inclusion has a very strong connection to Tolkien’s original story because Gollum was eventually held prisoner by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood.
A New Aragorn Will Lead the Hunt
One of the biggest changes is Jamie Dornan as the younger Aragorn, still known to much of Middle-earth as Strider.
This makes sense chronologically because Tolkien’s account places Aragorn at the center of the actual hunt for Gollum.
Gandalf needed information about the strange ring Bilbo had brought home from his adventure. Aragorn subsequently searched extensively for Gollum, eventually finding and capturing him before bringing him north to Thranduil’s Woodland Realm.
That journey gives the filmmakers a genuine Tolkien storyline to expand.
The important question will be how closely the finished movie follows what Tolkien actually wrote and how much new material is created to fill the enormous gaps Tolkien left between the known events.
Anya Taylor-Joy Joins Middle-earth as Seren
Anya Taylor-Joy has officially joined the film as Seren, described as a Sindarin Elf associated with Thranduil.
There is an important distinction for Tolkien readers:
Seren is not a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
She is an original character created for the movie.
However, the environment into which she has been placed is connected to Tolkien’s story. Thranduil’s Wood-elves really did become responsible for guarding Gollum, and Gollum eventually escaped their custody after an Orc attack.
How extensively Seren becomes involved in those events remains to be seen.
We will be watching this character particularly closely as more official information is released.
Other New Characters
The confirmed cast also introduces several other new faces to this version of Middle-earth.
Leo Woodall plays Halvard, another Dúnedain Ranger who is connected to Aragorn’s mission.
Kate Winslet plays Marigol, a character associated with the story’s exploration of Sméagol’s earlier life.
These characters potentially indicate that the movie will do considerably more than simply dramatize Aragorn pursuing Gollum across Middle-earth.
The filmmakers appear prepared to explore both the hunt for Gollum and the history of Sméagol himself.
The First Official Set Photos Have Arrived
In September 2026, Warner Bros. released the first official photographs from the production in celebration of Hobbit Day.
And they immediately brought us somewhere familiar:
The Shire.
The photographs show production underway in Hobbiton, members of the crew, Hobbits in costume and a figure approaching the unmistakable round green door of Bag End.
For a production that had previously revealed very little visually, these are significant photographs because they are our first authentic look at the physical world being created for the new movie.
OFFICIAL PHOTOS
The first official behind-the-scenes images from The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum return audiences to Hobbiton and the Shire. Images: Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema.
What Is The Hunt for Gollum Actually About?
Let’s start with only that which is described in Tolkien’s writings, the Hunt for Gollum begins with Gandalf’s growing suspicion about the mysterious ring Bilbo brought back from his adventure. Gandalf wants to learn how Gollum originally obtained it and, more importantly, what Gollum may have revealed to Sauron after losing it. Gandalf searches for Gollum himself and eventually enlists the help of Aragorn, already an experienced Ranger who has spent decades traveling throughout Middle-earth.
The search becomes a long and difficult one. Gollum has wandered widely since leaving the Misty Mountains, eventually traveling dangerously close to Mordor. By the time Aragorn finally finds him, Gollum has already been captured and tortured by Sauron’s servants in Mordor and released. This is crucial: Sauron has learned from Gollum the words “Shire” and “Baggins,” giving the Enemy his first major clues about what happened to the One Ring.
Aragorn eventually tracks Gollum to the Dead Marshes, near the borders of Mordor, and captures him. Tolkien does not give us a detailed scene describing the capture itself, leaving a large gap in the story. Aragorn then undertakes an extremely difficult journey north with Gollum as his prisoner. Gollum is miserable, hostile and difficult to control; Aragorn later recalls that Gollum bit him, and says that he endured the journey only because of the importance of his mission.
Rather than taking Gollum to Gondor or Rivendell, Aragorn brings him all the way north to Thranduil’s Woodland Realm in Mirkwood. There the Wood-elves imprison Gollum but show him some mercy, periodically allowing him outside under guard. Gandalf comes to Mirkwood and interrogates Gollum, learning enough about his history to help establish the connection between Bilbo’s ring and Sauron’s lost One Ring.
Gollum does not remain a prisoner. While the Wood-elves have him outside, Orcs attack the guards, killing some of them and allowing Gollum to escape. The Elves pursue him but cannot recapture him. Thranduil therefore sends Legolas to Rivendell to report Gollum’s escape, which explains why Legolas happens to be present when Elrond summons the famous Council at which the Fellowship is ultimately formed.
One important point for the upcoming movie is that Tolkien never wrote The Hunt for Gollum as a complete adventure. Most of what we know is reconstructed from conversations in The Fellowship of the Ring—especially “The Shadow of the Past” and “The Council of Elrond”—along with Tolkien’s chronology and other writings. Tolkien gives us the major events, locations and outcome, but leaves much of Aragorn’s actual pursuit, Gollum’s movements, their encounters along the way, and the details of the capture undescribed.
That means the basic storyline of Aragorn hunting Gollum, capturing him near Mordor and bringing him to Thranduil is authentically Tolkien. But a movie has enormous gaps to fill with original material. That distinction will be important when evaluating The Hunt for Gollum: Tolkien gave the filmmakers the skeleton of a remarkable adventure, but he never wrote the full adventure itself.
Now on the the Upcoming Film Version
This is where the movie becomes especially interesting for Tolkien readers.
The basic story is not something Hollywood invented.
Aragorn really did hunt Gollum.
After Bilbo returned from his adventure with the One Ring, Gandalf gradually became suspicious about the true nature of Bilbo’s “magic ring.”
Gollum represented one of the few living sources who might reveal where the Ring had come from and what had happened to it before Bilbo discovered it beneath the Misty Mountains.
Aragorn searched for him.
The hunt took Aragorn over an enormous area of Middle-earth, including dangerous regions near Mordor. Eventually Aragorn found Gollum near the Dead Marshes.
Capturing him was only the beginning.
Aragorn then had to transport an extremely unwilling Gollum hundreds of miles north to the Woodland Realm.
Gollum fought him, resisted him and even bit him during the journey.
Eventually Aragorn delivered his prisoner to the Wood-elves of Thranduil.
Gandalf later questioned Gollum there and learned information that helped confirm his growing fears about Bilbo’s Ring.
That story is described primarily through Aragorn and Gandalf’s accounts in “The Council of Elrond” in The Fellowship of the Ring, with additional chronology and related material appearing elsewhere in Tolkien’s writings.
So while the filmmakers will obviously have to create dialogue, encounters and additional characters to turn those events into a feature-length movie, the central hunt itself comes directly from Tolkien.
Gollum’s Escape From Mirkwood
There is another major Tolkien event that could become important to the film.
Gollum did not remain Thranduil’s prisoner.
The Wood-elves occasionally allowed him to climb a tree under guard because he hated the confinement of the Elven halls.
Then Orcs attacked.
Gollum escaped during the assault.
This is actually why Legolas travels to Rivendell and attends the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring: he has been sent to report that Gollum escaped from Thranduil’s custody.
Whether The Hunt for Gollum will depict that event—and how much of the story occurs before or after Gollum’s imprisonment—will become clearer as Warner Bros. reveals more of the plot.
How Much Tolkien Material Exists for This Story?
More than some casual moviegoers may realize—but far less than exists for The Lord of the Rings itself.
- Tolkien provides the important events.
- We know that Gandalf became suspicious of the Ring.
- We know Aragorn searched for Gollum.
- We know Gollum had traveled into Mordor.
- We know Aragorn eventually captured him.
- We know Aragorn brought him to Mirkwood.
- We know Gandalf questioned him.
- We know Gollum eventually escaped.
But Tolkien obviously did not write a complete novel called The Hunt for Gollum. That leaves the filmmakers considerable territory to fill. As long as the fill doesn’t contradict the book, most true fans will be okay with it. For readers who want to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth beyond the movies, The Fellowship of the Ring, its appendices and material later published by Christopher Tolkien provide much more background surrounding these events.
If you want my breakdown of the differences between the books in the Lord of the Rings and the Movie Trilogy, you can read my Comparing the book to the movie articles here:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
A similar study of The Hobbit Trilogy is in Production and will be available soon. This has so many inaccuracies, it will take much longer to produce.
Is The Hunt for Gollum One Movie or Two?
The Hunt for Gollum is one movie.
There was considerable confusion about this after early comments surrounding the project, but screenwriter and producer Philippa Boyens subsequently clarified that The Hunt for Gollum itself is a single film.
Warner Bros. and the filmmakers have been developing ideas for additional live-action Middle-earth movies, which appears to have been the source of the misunderstanding.
For now, The Hunt for Gollum should be treated as one film scheduled for December 2027.
What We Know So Far
As of September 2026, these are the major confirmed facts:
- Official title: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
- Release date: December 17, 2027
- Director: Andy Serkis
- Gollum / Sméagol: Andy Serkis
- Gandalf: Ian McKellen
- Frodo Baggins: Elijah Wood
- Thranduil: Lee Pace
- Strider / Aragorn: Jamie Dornan
- Seren: Anya Taylor-Joy
- Halvard: Leo Woodall
- Marigol: Kate Winslet
- Producer: Peter Jackson
- Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou
- Filming: Underway in New Zealand
- First official production video: Released
- First official set photographs: Released
Most importantly, the movie is now actually being filmed. For years, a return to Peter Jackson’s cinematic Middle-earth existed primarily in announcements, interviews and development updates. Now the cameras are rolling.
Official Sources and Updates
For the original studio announcement about the project, visit the official Warner Bros. Discovery press release announcing The Hunt for Gollum.
You can also watch the official Warner Bros. Start of Production video featuring Andy Serkis returning to the motion-capture stage as Gollum.
We’ll continue adding official trailers, posters, photographs, casting announcements and production updates to this page as Warner Bros. releases them.
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Bookmark this page and check back as we continue following The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum from production through its theatrical release on December 17, 2027.