Warner Bros. has officially set a December 17, 2027 release date for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Andy Serkis returns to direct and reprise his motion-capture role as Gollum, marking the franchise’s first live-action film in over a decade.
A Familiar Holiday Release Window
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies all launched in December, and this new film follows suit. The December 2027 slot positions Gollum for another big Christmas box office run. Combined, the previous six films earned $2.9 billion globally.
Serkis Back in Control
Andy Serkis, who has played Gollum since 2002’s The Two Towers, is once again leading the project both in front of and behind the camera. His past directing credits include Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
The film was originally planned for 2026 but has been delayed one year.
In the official announcement back in May of last year, Serkis teased, “Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike [De Luca] and Pam [Abdy], and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”.
Peter Jackson Involved
Peter Jackson, along with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, is producing The Hunt for Gollum. Warner Bros. notes that Jackson’s team “will be involved every step of the way.”
Boyens recently told Empire the story takes place after Bilbo’s birthday party and before the events in Moria, calling it an “intense” untold part of the Lord of the Rings timeline, focused on Gollum’s perspective.
In a joint statement when the film was first announced, Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens said, “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum! As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Casting Still in Question
No official cast announcements have been made, but original trilogy actors like Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen have all said they’re open to returning if the story fits.
Last Rings Film Was Anime
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be the first live-action entry in the franchise since 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The last theatrical release was the animated War of the Rohirrim in 2024 which didn’t go over too well and has been said to be from a previous executive regime at Warner Bros.
