Middle-earth fans are quite excited about Andy Serkis’ return to the director’s chair for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The plan sounded simple enough. Bring back the gang. Let them chase the raspy little fish-obsessed menace again. Now, there are rumors that it could take three full movies to catch him.
Warner Bros. Might Be Planning Another Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum could kick off an entirely new trilogy for Warner Bros. If you’re counting, that’s the third Lord of the Rings trilogy, following the original films and then The Hobbit prequels that followed.
Hunt for Gollum will be another prequel. The story sits in the timeline of The Fellowship of the Ring, just before Frodo Baggins leaves the Shire for Rivendell. Gandalf sends Aragorn on a mission to track down Gollum. That hunt becomes the backbone of the film.
The Hunt for Gollum Would Be the First of Three Films
Industry insider Jeff Sneider said on The Hot Mic that the film might be “the first of three.” Warner Bros. hasn’t officially confirmed that news yet, but production starts in May, with a release date locked for December 17, 2027.
Andy Serkis, who played Sméagol / Gollum in the original franchise, returns as the slippery creature, but also sits in the director’s chair this time. Serkis, who has directed the very average Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, isn’t exactly the Peter Jackson-level director you’d expect to helm the project. Still, Middle-earth has surprised audiences before, and, having been on the set of all the other films, he is at least very familiar with the process of making the franchise. And if this works, and it’s at least half as good as The Hobbit, we could be signing up for another long trip back to Mordor.
Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood may also appear, though the actors have aged two decades since 2001. But there’s one actor that’s officially not returning.
Aragorn Gets a New Actor in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
You’ve already seen Sir Ian McKellen hint he’s game for more Gandalf. And Elijah Wood is still the ultimate Hobbit hype man. Even Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom are waiting for their calls to come through. So what happened to Viggo Mortensen?
Why Viggo Mortensen Won’t Return as Aragorn
For a while, everyone, including writer Philippa Boyens, held onto hope. “Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively, and we are at a very early stage,” she said last year. “I’ve spoken to Viggo, Andy has spoken to him, Peter 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.” Recasting Aragorn was always going to be playing with fire.
Yet here we are. Knight Edge Media says the studio has decided to cast a younger actor. Mortensen, now 66, was semi-open to returning, but the timeline of this story creates complications. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum takes place just before The Fellowship of the Ring. Twenty-plus years since the original trilogy hit cinemas is a long time when you’re trying to look like a rugged thirty-something ranger still lurking around the wilds of Middle-earth.
Boyens even addressed the age problem while explaining how other returning cast could still fit the era. “We don’t see this as like, using A.I., this is about a digital make-up,” she said. The idea wasn’t completely off the table for Mortensen. He just needed a script solid enough to make it worth stepping into the boots again. And that script didn’t arrive in time.
Production Timeline and Release Plans for The Hunt for Gollum
New Line Cinema has talked to multiple actors, though no names have leaked yet. Production aims to kick off in New Zealand in mid-2026, with a 2027 release. That gives fans a year and a half to adjust to the idea of a new heir of Isildur. You might not love the news, but the journey to destroy the One Ring was always full of surprises. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will have a big one.
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