The first of the new “Lord of the Rings” movies at Warner Bros. will come out in 2026, according to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The movie, tentatively named “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” will be helmed by Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in the original trilogy and “Hobbit” films and will reprise the role in the new film.
The original “Lord of the Rings” creators Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will produce the film and will be involved throughout the process, as per Zaslav. Walsh and Boyens are writing the screenplay with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, who also worked on “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”
Serkis expressed his excitement, mentioning his colleagues and the team involved in the project. He also expressed his enthusiasm for the endeavor, which includes WETA and the film making family in New Zealand.
Aside from playing Gollum in the groundbreaking “LOTR” trilogy, Serkis directed second unit on the “Hobbit” films and made his feature directorial debut with 2017’s drama “Breathe” and 2018’s performance capture “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.” Serkis most recently directed the “Venom” sequel “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Jackson, Walsh and Boyens shared their excitement in revisiting Middle-earth with Andy Serkis, stating that they are proud to work on another epic adventure with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy spoke about the commitment to excellence in the Lord of the Rings cinematic history and expressed their honor in having Peter, Fran and Philippa as partners on the new films. They also highlighted Andy's involvement as a director in 'The Hunt for Gollum'.
The film will be executive produced by Ken Kamins, with Serkis and The Imaginarium’s Jonathan Cavendish.
Jackson directed the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy as well as a trilogy of films based off of an earlier J.R.R. Tolkien novel “The Hobbit,” the last of which was released in 2014.
Zaslav did not disclose the scriptwriters for the new movie, but Jackson, Walsh and Boyens penned the original “Lord of the Rings” movies and the prequel trilogy “The Hobbit.”
This winter, Warner Bros. is going to release an animated movie called “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.” It has a similar look to the live-action films and features Brian Cox and Miranda Otto, who is playing her role from the “Lord of the Rings” movies. The story is 200 years before “The Hobbit” and 261 years before “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy started in 2001, with “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” It was a huge success, making over $883 million worldwide and getting thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won Oscars for its score, cinematography, make-up and visual effects.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” came out in 2002 and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2003. The third film won Best Picture and got Peter Jackson a Best Director Academy Award, plus Oscars for adapted screenplay, original song, score, sound mixing, art direction, make-up, costume design, editing and visual effects.
Guillermo del Toro was initially developing “The Hobbit” trilogy (and ended up with a writing credit), but it was taken over by Jackson. The trilogy includes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in 2012, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” in 2013 and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” in 2014.
In 2022, Amazon launched “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” a grand new series for their Prime Video streaming service. The highly awaited second season is set to be released later this year.
