Andy Serkis has been announced to star in and direct ‘The Hunt for Gollum’, a new Lord of the Rings film produced by Peter Jackson. Warner Bros Discovery confirmed the collaboration this week, with a planned release date in 2026. The film is in the early stages of script development, with original trilogy writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens on board.
This marks Jackson’s return to Middle Earth since the conclusion of the Hobbit trilogy in 2014. The decision to produce a new film is part of a deal between Warner Bros and Embracer Group, who acquired the rights to JRR Tolkien’s original books in 2022. This new project is separate from Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, ‘The Rings of Power’, which focuses on Middle Earth thousands of years before the events of the original trilogy.
Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy, released from 2001 to 2003, remains a cinematic milestone, winning numerous awards and critical acclaim. However, his subsequent adaptation of ‘The Hobbit’ failed to capture the same magic, with criticism aimed at the length and pacing of the trilogy.
Given the mixed response to recent projects set in Middle Earth, the upcoming ‘Hunt for Gollum’ faces high expectations. Fans hope that the return of key creatives, such as Serkis and the original writers, will bring back the same level of quality seen in the iconic trilogy. The pressure is on for Jackson to recapture the enchantment of his earlier work and deliver a film that lives up to the legacy of Tolkien’s beloved world.
Source
Photo credit www.euronews.com