When it comes to adaptations, Tolkien fans are used to waiting. There was a nine-year gap between the “The Return of the King” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Ten years passed between “The Hobbit” trilogy and last year’s “The War of the Rohirrim” anime prequel. Even serialized Middle-earth moves slowly, with “The Rings of Power” taking nearly two years between each season of its Second Age show. I guess it’s worth pointing out that none of this is quite as slow as Professor Tolkien himself, who took decades to produce new writing during his life and often didn’t even publish things he wrote. Still, it’s a fact that things in this fandom move slowly.
The sluggish nature of Tolkien adaptations means it was hardly a surprise when it was revealed that Warner Bros.’ upcoming live-action Middle-earth prequel “The Hunt for Gollum” is going to take longer than expected to slink into theaters. How long? Try an extra year.
According to The Direct, at a Fan Expo Vancouver 2025 panel, Serkis said, point blank:
“Yeah, it is not 2026. It was originally going to be December 2026. It is going to be December 2027.”
For anyone checking IMDb listings and wondering why the movie still has a 2026 release date (as of this writing), Serkis elaborated that the non-official release is simply due to the moviemaking process. He clarified that they are still just starting to write the script and production is planned for 2026 — the same year the movie was originally going to come out. In his own words,
“We are right at the beginning of the writing process. We will be prepping later this year. Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs into that December 2027 release date.”
What will the Hunt for Gollum be about?
“The Hunt for Gollum” project was announced early in 2024. Technically, there is very little concrete information on the movie other than the fact that Andy Serkis is lined up to direct and reprise his role as the corrupted Sméagol. Peter Jackson is also on board as a producer, and the movie was confirmed by Middle-earth alumnus Philippa Boyens to be a single stand-alone live-action movie.
While there is little else known for certain, hints and rumors have abounded since the announcement. As far as the story is concerned, the most likely candidate for a Gollum-centric film is one that traces Stinker’s journey from the Misty Mountains after his encounter with Bilbo up until he tracks the Fellowship of the Ring as it heads for Mount Doom.
There’s plenty to tell at this point. Gollum’s harrowing adventures are sketched out in the book “The Fellowship of the Ring” and occasionally referenced throughout the rest of the trilogy. They include Gollum wandering to Lake-town and Dale near the Lonely Mountain. He gains a reputation as a blood-drinking ghost in Mirkwood and eventually heads for the Shire (leading some fans to theorize that he may have even killed Frodo’s parents). Before he gets to the Shire, though, he heads south to Mordor, where Sauron tortures him and learns about the One Ring fiasco. Eventually, Aragorn tracks him down, captures him, and brings him to the Wood-elves’ kingdom in Mirkwood, where Gandalf questions and even terrorizes him to get important information. Eventually, he’s sprung from his prison by Orcs, prompting Legolas to bring the news to the Council of Elrond. From there, he tracks down Frodo, Sam, and the Ring, and the rest is history. While this is by no means confirmed to be where Serkis, Jackson, and company are going with the story, it is the source material version of events that most easily fits a Gollum prequel concept.
Who could be in the Hunt for Gollum?
As far as the cast for the new show, there are several potential opportunities for original trilogy characters to return alongside Serkis for the live-action prequel. Ian McKellen has already gone on record saying that he’s been in contact with the creative team behind the project (which could hint at another big-screen return as Gandalf).
Writer Philippa Boyens also clearly stated that she, Serkis, and Jackson had all talked to Viggo Mortensen, and while nothing was official by any means, she said:
“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.”
Gimli actor John Rhys-Davies also expressed interest in returning, as long as he didn’t have to wear makeup he is allergic to again (as was the case with “The Lord of the Rings”). Legolas actor Orlando Bloom also mentioned talking to Andy Serkis — and even stirred up some early controversy amongst Tolkien fandom when he floated the idea that the production crew is considering using AI to de-age older actors.
Presumably, others like Frodo actor Elijah Wood and Sam Gamgee actor Sean Astin could factor into the equation, too. But again, especially after the confirmation that the due date is pushed back a whole 12 months at least, this is all very early speculation at this point. Hopefully it all comes together without much trouble and fans aren’t left waiting too long, but based on the franchise’s history, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Like a Wizard, this thing isn’t going to be late, nor will it be early. It will arrive precisely when it means to.