Listen closely, silly little hobbitses. More precious news has landed in Middle Earth about Andy Serkis’ new Lord of the Rings prequel film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Warner Bros. shared on X that The Hunt for Gollum is officially in production – and the news was served raw and wriggling.
Andy Serkis is kitted out in a motion capture suit, settling down in the director's chair only to be told his scene was up. Serkis then crouches down on a platform à la Gollum and delivers the word "Action!" in the beloved hobitses voice.
The hunt is on. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has officially started production. Only in theaters 17 December 2027. pic.twitter.com/AnDRFcnYSA
— Warner Bros. (@warnerbros) July 14, 2026
Alongside Serkis reprising his role as the titular character, it was also recently announced that Ian McKellen will return as the iconic Gandalf, while Elijah Wood will return to our screens as the adventurous Hobbit, Frodo Baggins. Lee Pace will return as Thranduil.
Here’s everything we know so far about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The plot of Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be set before The Fellowship of the Ring
While plot details remain pretty scarce at the time of writing, we do know The Hunt for Gollum will chronicle a search for the titular character, a corrupted Hobbit swayed by the pull of the One Ring.
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum cast
Plenty of familiar faces are returning to The Lord of the rings: The Hunt for Gollum. There are also some exciting new additions.
Jamie Dornan is set to play the role of Strider, later revealed as Aragorn in Fellowship of the Ring. Other newcomers include Kate Winslet as Marigol and Leo Woodall as Halvard.
So far, this is what The Hunt for Gollum cast is looking like...
- Andy Serkis as Gollum / Smeagol
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Lee Pace as Thranduil
- Kate Winslet as Marigol
- Leo Woodall as Halvard
- Jamie Dornan as Strider / Aragon
Who is behind the camera of Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum?
Andy Serkis will direct The Hunt for Gollum, as well as reprising his role as the titular character.
The script was also written by the original writers from the trilogy: Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, while Peter Jackson, who directed the original trilogy as well as The Hobbit film series, will co-produce alongside the two writers.
What is the release date for Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum?
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released to watch at Cineworld on 17 December, 2027.
Where will The Hunt for Gollum be filmed?
We’re returning to Hobbiton, baby! It was reported that Wellington in New Zealand will be the main hub for production of Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Are there any other Lord of the Rings films in the works?
New Line announced in May 2024 that two films were in development, working with Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens as producers on the two new live action movies. The first, of course, is The Hunt for Gollum. A second movie has also been announced, currently under the working title The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past.
The script for this is being written by Stephen Colbert and his son Peter McGee, as well as Boyens. It is said to focus on Chapter 3 through to Chapter 8 of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Andy Serkis has raised eyebrows about potential use of AI
It's a controversial subject, but Andy Serkis has weighed in on any use of AI that might be present in The Hunt for Gollum.
Speaking to Variety, Serkis shared his thoughts on the use of AI in filmmaking. "I think AI as a creative tool is, as long as it’s not exploitative and as long as it’s not harming anybody or defaming anybody or telling mistruths, is valuable." He continues, "When it becomes exploitative and people are not remunerated for the work that they’ve done, or it’s used in nefarious, or mean-spirited or pornographic ways, then of course, that’s terrible and we’ve only brought it upon ourselves. I’ve said this before and I mean it — we are the parents of AI, and we have to be good parents and teach AI well."
When asked about if he plans to use it in The Hunt for Gollum, Serkis only commented on its use for de-aging characters – considering this is a prequel to a film released some 25 years ago, with the likes of Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood returning. The cast are bound to look a little weathered otherwise. Serkis said, "There’s a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters and machine learning is part of the process." He added, "We’re not creating AI shots in our movie, every shot is created in a traditional way. One of the things actually that I really wanted to do with this film was to bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics and marry them up, because that’s my taste. I like it when you mix up different filmmaking techniques."
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