Warner Bros. has officially announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will premiere in theaters on December 17, 2027. This is the first live-action Lord of the Rings film since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released in 2014. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the original trilogy, will both direct and star in the film.
This new movie continues the expansion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth on the big screen. The story will focus on Gollum and take place after Bilbo Baggins’ birthday party and before the Fellowship reaches the Mines of Moria. This time period falls within the timeline of The Fellowship of the Ring and covers events that weren’t shown in the earlier movies.
Key Takeaways
- The Hunt for Gollum will release on December 17, 2027, with Andy Serkis starring and directing.
- The film is set between Bilbo’s birthday party and the Mines of Moria, focusing on Gollum’s journey and likely covering the period when Gandalf and Aragorn search for him.
- Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are back as producers and writers.
The Creative Team Behind the Original Trilogy Is Back
Just like the earlier Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, this movie is being produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. Importantly, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens—the team that won multiple Oscars for the original trilogy—are returning to produce the film.
Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are also writing the screenplay, working alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Zane Weiner will produce the film with them. Ken Kamins is listed as executive producer, along with Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish, who is part of Serkis’ company, The Imaginarium.
Warner Bros. first announced the movie in 2023, aiming for a 2026 release. But the studio later confirmed a delay, moving the release to late 2027 to give the team more time to work on it. Like the other six live-action films in the series, from both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, this one will also come out in December, following the same release pattern used in the past.
The Story Will Focus on Gollum’s Journey
Philippa Boyens told Empire magazine that The Hunt for Gollum will be “an intense story” that gives more depth to Gollum’s life during a time that hasn’t been shown on screen before. The film is expected to explore Gollum’s actions between the events at Bag End and before the Fellowship enters Moria.
This will offer a look into the darker parts of Middle-earth. Since it focuses on Gollum’s perspective, the tone may be different from that of past films. Although no additional casting has been confirmed yet, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen have all said they are open to returning—if it makes sense for the story. Right now, only Andy Serkis is officially confirmed.
How This Fits into the Larger Lord of the Rings Universe
Before this upcoming film, the last Lord of the Rings movie to hit theaters was The War of the Rohirrim, an animated feature released in December 2024. However, it performed poorly at the box office, only making $20.6 million worldwide. The Hunt for Gollum is the first live-action LOTR film in over a decade.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is also developing another Lord of the Rings movie. The film does not yet have a title or director, but it will be produced by the same team—Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens.
While Warner Bros. is moving forward with these films, the rights to Tolkien’s works are split across several companies. The Tolkien Estate holds the literary rights. Middle-earth Enterprises, now owned by the Embracer Group, controls the film, stage, and merchandise rights for Tolkien’s original work. Amazon owns the streaming rights, which it uses for its TV series The Rings of Power, currently developing its third season. Warner Bros., through New Line Cinema, maintains the rights to the Peter Jackson adaptations and related merchandise.
Warner Bros. Is Rebuilding Its Fantasy Slate
In addition to The Hunt for Gollum, Warner Bros. has announced two other major film releases for 2026. First, a new Evil Dead movie starring Souheila Yacoub will debut on July 24, 2026. Then, M. Night Shyamalan’s next film, Remain, will release on October 23, 2026, and will feature Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor, and Ashley Walters.
As for December 2027, there is also a placeholder date for a Disney Star Wars movie on the same weekend. However, this appears to be unconfirmed and may change. Currently, Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, which stars Ryan Gosling, is scheduled for May 28, 2027, and Universal has an unnamed film planned for December 22, 2027.
Despite this, Warner Bros. is confident in its decision to place The Hunt for Gollum in the pre-Christmas window, just like past Lord of the Rings films, which helped them reach a combined box office total of $5.9 billion across six movies.
