Hunt For Gollum to Be a Standalone Film, With More Lord of the Rings Movies Coming Soon.

After spending years away from Middle-earth, Warner Bros. is gearing up to delve deep into J.R.R. Tolkien’s works with more “Lord of the Rings” movies in the coming years. Yes, movies plural here! These films are not intended to be a remake of Peter Jackson’s original trilogy or a redo of “The Hobbit.” For starters, a new “Lord of the Rings” film titled “The Hunt for Gollum” is set to be released, which we first learned about earlier this year. Andy Serkis, known for playing Gollum in Jackson’s previous films, will be directing this one. In this case, one is actually a keyword as “The Hunt for Gollum” will indeed be just one film, as opposed to two.

In a conversation with Empire, Philippa Boyens, co-writer of Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, clarified that while two different “LOTR” movies are in the works, the other project is entirely separate from “The Hunt for Gollum.” She stated:

“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films! That was a genuine misunderstanding that happened because we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films. The first being ‘The Hunt For Gollum,’ the second one still to be confirmed.”

Some confusion arose when Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, suggested that “The Hunt for Gollum” would be two films. Turns out he was only partially right, and it’s understandable where the confusion came from. Nevertheless, this revelation opens the door to many new questions regarding the franchise’s future.

Regarding the confusion, “We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf,” Boyens elaborated in the interview. “So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films.” This indicates that McKellen has certainly been in contact with Jackson, Warner Bros., Boyens, and presumably Serkis.

As for what this other movie could entail, it’s purely speculative at this point. Additionally, Warner Bros. has the animated “War of the Rohirrim” scheduled for release in December, showcasing another instance of Tolkien’s writing being transformed into a feature-length story. Boyens shared further details about when “The Hunt for Gollum” takes place, offering hints on how the franchise is being approached currently:

“It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria. It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”

Hence, “The Hunt for Gollum” can be characterized as an in-between-quel, a film set between “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers.” The creative team seems poised to explore the margins of Middle-earth’s narrative. Why are they doing this? Because “The Fellowship of the Ring” was a massive success, spawning a $5.8 billion franchise, making these films some of the highest grossers in cinematic history. Even Jackson’s “Hobbit” trilogy, while not as acclaimed, raked in substantial earnings. Warner Bros. has significant incentives to extend this universe further.

Currently, “The Hunt for Gollum” does not have an official release date but is tentatively projected for 2026.