Center-earth is looking once more, and this time it’s Gollum main the way in which. Warner Bros. formally confirmed a December 2027 theatrical launch for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The film comes with a returning solid of beloved characters, some daring new additions, and a narrative drawn from the footnotes and appendices of Tolkien’s books that was by no means absolutely dramatised – and that’s precisely what makes it value telling. Right here is all the things we all know up to now concerning the new LOTR spinoff.
The place does The Hunt for Gollum match within the Lord of the Rings timeline?
LOTR / IMDB
The Hunt for Gollum is each a sequel and a prequel as a result of it sits proper between The Hobbit trilogy and The Fellowship of the Ring. For a greater understanding, right here’s the Lord of the Rings viewing order chronologically, as soon as this film is launched:
So if you’re planning a full Center-earth marathon earlier than its launch, you recognize what to do.
What’s The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum about?
There’s a stretch of Center-earth historical past that LOTR followers not often take into consideration. What was Gollum really doing between shedding the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and turning up as a wretched shadow stalking the Fellowship within the Mines of Moria? That hole is the plot for The Hunt for Gollum.
LOTR / IMDB
The story picks up after Bilbo’s well-known birthday disappearance from the Shire, within the shadowed years earlier than the Fellowship is even fashioned. Gollum, as soon as a hobbit-like creature known as Sméagol, has misplaced his treasured ring. Bilbo took it from him in a sport of riddles deep within the Misty Mountains, and that loss unravels all the things. With nothing left to cling to, Gollum crawls out of his cave and goes looking for the Ring. And that’s the place the plot of this film lies.
Since Gollum is aware of concerning the Ring’s existence, he is aware of Bilbo has it, and if Sauron will get to him first, the Darkish Lord can have all the things he wants to trace the Ring to the Shire. Gandalf understands this higher than anybody. So he calls on Aragorn, nonetheless recognized at this level solely as Strider, to seek out Gollum earlier than Sauron does. What follows is actually a manhunt throughout Center-earth, by way of harmful terrain and haunted wastelands, in a race towards the shadow of Mordor.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum full solid and characters
The total solid was just lately revealed by Warner Bros at CinemaCon. The solid is a mixture of beloved returning faces and a few thrilling new additions. Right here is each LOTR character confirmed up to now:
Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol
Wikipedia
Serkis is again because the creature he has performed throughout 5 Center-earth movies, and this time he’s additionally directing. Gollum is likely one of the most complicated characters in all of Tolkien’s work, a being torn between his authentic self, the mild Smeagol, and the corrupted wretch the One Ring turned him into.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf
New Line Cinema
There may be merely no Center-earth with out Gandalf, and McKellen returning to the function is genuinely thrilling. In The Hunt for Gollum, Gandalf operates largely behind the scenes, directing Aragorn’s mission relatively than using into battle himself. That’s totally in step with how Tolkien wrote the character throughout this era, a wizard who sees the larger image lengthy earlier than anybody else does.
Elijah Wooden as Frodo Baggins
LOTR / IMDB
Frodo’s inclusion is the one which raises probably the most questions concerning the plot. At this level within the timeline, Frodo continues to be dwelling quietly within the Shire, fully unaware that the ring Bilbo left him will quickly change all the things. Elijah Wooden’s look within the movie could also be temporary, however it’s a welcome return all the identical.
Leo Woodall as Halvard
Apple TV+
Woodall, who broke by way of along with his function in The White Lotus, performs Halvard, a brand new character described as a fellow Dunedain ranger who joins Strider on the hunt. Not a lot is thought about Halvard but, however his presence suggests the Hunt for Gollum will flesh out the world of the Dunedain greater than the earlier motion pictures had time to do.
Lee Tempo as Thranduil
Warner Bros. Photos / New Line Productions, Inc
Tempo returns because the Elvenking of Mirkwood, a job he performed throughout the three Hobbit movies. Thranduil’s inclusion makes full sense as a result of Gollum passes by way of Mirkwood throughout his wanderings after shedding the Ring, and Thranduil’s realm controls all passage by way of that forest. His elves are additionally those who finally maintain Gollum prisoner after Aragorn captures him, making the Elvenking a key determine within the Hunt for Gollum.
Kate Winslet as Marigol
HBO
Winslet joins the franchise as Marigol, and the title is a clue value listening to. “Marigold” is definitely a standard title within the LOTR universe, particularly amongst Hobbits. Samwise Gamgee has a sister named Marigold in Tolkien’s books, and one other Marigold seems in Prime Video’s The Rings of Energy. However Winslet’s character has nothing to do with both of them.
There are a number of experiences suggesting that Kate Winslet might be enjoying Gollum’s grandmother. Gollum briefly mentions his grandmother in The Fellowship of the Ring, however Tolkien by no means named her. What little we all know is compelling: she was a strong elder inside her Hobbit neighborhood and a steward of Elven Rings of Energy.
If Marigol is certainly Gollum’s grandmother, the movie could soar between previous and current to point out us who Smeagol was earlier than the Ring destroyed him. Nothing is confirmed but, however it is likely one of the most intriguing open questions across the movie.
Jamie Dornan as Strider (Aragorn)
Cinema Hub
That is the casting that has generated probably the most dialog. Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn is likely one of the most iconic performances in blockbuster movie historical past, so getting into these worn ranger boots isn’t any small job. Jamie Dornan, greatest recognized for The Fall and Fifty Shades of Gray, takes on the function right here.
At this level within the story, Aragorn has not but revealed his true identification as inheritor to the throne of Gondor. He’s merely Strider, a rugged and mysterious Dunedain ranger of the North, and that model of the character fits Dornan’s quiet depth nicely.
However why isn’t Viggo Mortensen returning as Aragorn in The Hunt for Gollum?
LOTR / IMDB
No official cause has been given, however the probably reply is that Viggo Mortensen selected to not return. Again in 2024, he addressed the likelihood, saying he would solely reprise the function if he felt he was proper for it bodily and by way of age. Aragorn is meant to look youthful on this story, and as a Dunedain with an prolonged lifespan, the character would want to seem meaningfully youthful than Mortensen is at this time.
Placing him entrance and middle of the movie would virtually actually have required intensive CGI de-aging, a way that has delivered combined outcomes throughout the business. Recasting, in that context, is arguably the cleaner inventive alternative. The opposite returning actors have it considerably simpler: Gandalf is meant to look historical, and Frodo’s function is probably going sufficiently small that it’s much less of a difficulty.
When is LOTR: The Hunt for Gollum releasing?
After a delay, The Hunt for Gollum is ready to launch on December 17, 2027. Warner Bros. confirmed the date on their social channels, carrying the very on-brand message: “We’ve been ready for you, treasured.”
The timing isn’t unintentional. Director Peter Jackson’s authentic trilogy all opened in December, with The Fellowship of the Ring hitting theaters on December 19, 2001, The Two Towers on December 18, 2002, and The Return of the King on December 17, 2003.
The final date is especially notable as a result of The Hunt for Gollum will likely be releasing on the very same date, 24 years later, because the movie that received 11 Academy Awards and closed out one of many best trilogies in cinema historical past. Whether or not that may be a coincidence or a deliberate scheduling transfer, it’s a date that holds significance for each fan of Center-earth.
Are there extra Lord of the Rings movies coming after The Hunt for Gollum?
Sure, and this one is genuinely shocking. Stephen Colbert, the longtime host of The Late Present and some of the devoted Tolkien followers in public life, is co-writing the following movie within the sequence alongside Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are additionally concerned as producers, maintaining the core inventive staff intact.
LOTR / IMDB
The movie, presently titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Previous, attracts from chapters three by way of eight of The Fellowship of the Ring, specializing in a piece of the e-book that Jackson’s authentic trilogy skipped totally. It centres on “Fog on the Barrow-downs,” a chapter through which the Hobbits turn into trapped by a Barrow-wight in a supernatural mist.
Extra excitingly for e-book followers, it would lastly carry Tom Bombadil to the display screen, a beloved and deeply eccentric character who was omitted of Jackson’s trilogy and has been a sore level for Tolkien purists ever since. No director has been assigned but, however the items are already clearly in movement.
