‘Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’ Set For 2026 Release - Andy Serkis To Direct And Star
Courtesy of Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times.
Two new Lord Of The Rings films are in active development at Warner Bros. Recent reports say that ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ will be directed by and star Andy Serkis (who returns to the role of Gollum), with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens penning the screenplay. Peter Jackson will return to the franchise with a heavy involvement in the creative process, though it’s not confirmed if he will be a direct producer.
On Warner Bros. Discovery’s first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, CEO David Zaslav said that the company is “now in the early stages of script development” and “anticipate releasing [the film] in 2026,” while focusing on exploring “storylines yet to be told.”
Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy commented: “For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision. We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history.”
The news of Jackson’s involvement in the new film franchise is sure to calm any concerns from fans, as the soreness of the Amazon series ‘Rings Of Power’ is still fresh in their minds.
The original LOTR trilogy was considered a masterpiece on all fronts, winning a total of 17 out of 30 nominated Academy Awards. This includes ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)’; ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)’; and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).’ This was followed by a prequel trilogy: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’; ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’; and ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.’
