Looks like our return to Middle-Earth on the big screen just got seriously delayed…
While it was originally slated to land in theaters in December 2026, Andy Serkis has now confirmed that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum won’t actually release until one whole year later, due to extensive planning and VFX work.
“We are right at the beginning of the writing process,” the motion capture legend-turned-director explained at Fan Expo Vancouver 2025 (via The Direct). “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.”
Despite the film being announced back in May 2024, this is the first major update we’ve had since then. Outside of the facts that Serkis will be starring in the flick as well as producing, it’ll be filmed in New Zealand, will a standalone movie, and that Peter Jackson is on board to executive produce, little is known about the project so far.
While it’s not been explicitly stated, it seems safe to assume that the new flick will be live-action, unlike recent anime spin-off The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, starring the voice talents of Brian Cox and Eowyn actor Miranda Otto.
Given the mystery surrounding the movie, fans of the franchise have begun speculating as to what its plot could be, with many voicing that it could be a prequel that depicts Gollum, known once as Sméagol, and Gandalf’s first encounter, which the wizard teases to Frodo (Elijah Wood) in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
“We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf,” Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens told Empire last year.
“Well, all I know is that they called me up and said that these films were going to happen, [and] mainly be about Gollum. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, is going to direct, and there would be a script arriving some time in the new year,” Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in Jackson’s adaptations of Tolkien’s works, said during an appearance on This Morning back in September 2024. “That’s next year. And then I’ll judge whether I want to go back.”
The 85 year old continued: “But I would. I would love to go back to New Zealand, number one. And I also don’t like the idea of anybody else playing Gandalf.”
While we wait for more news on The Hunt for Gollum, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.
