New Lord of the Rings Movie Gets Massive Updates From Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen shared major updates about the next Lord of the Rings film, The Hunt for Gollum, during a recent fan event. The legendary actor revealed key casting details and teased what fans can expect as the franchise returns to Middle-earth.
What Ian McKellen said about Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Ian McKellen confirmed at the “For the Love of Fantasy” fan event in London that a new Lord of the Rings film is in the works. He revealed that production on The Hunt for Gollum will begin in May 2026.
He stated, “It’s going to be directed by Gollum, and it’s all about Gollum. But I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting. There’s a character in the movie called Frodo and another character called Gandalf, and apart from that, my lips are sealed.” He did not explicitly confirm whether he or Elijah Wood would reprise their roles, but both actors attended the event with other original trilogy cast members.
Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in the original trilogy, will direct the upcoming film. The story takes place just before The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sauron search for Gollum in the plot. The film presents the story from Gollum’s perspective. A younger actor will replace Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will produce the film.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav named The Hunt for Gollum a top studio priority. He included it with upcoming Batman, Superman, and Harry Potter projects. In June 2025, Serkis stated the team had spent about a year developing the film. He confirmed that pre-production would begin shortly. The team plans to start filming in early to mid-2026. They aim to release the film in December 2027.
The original Lord of the Rings trilogy ended in 2003. McKellen, Wood, and Jackson later returned for The Hobbit films. Jackson did not work on Amazon’s The Rings of Power. However, he produced The War of the Rohirrim, the first animated film in the franchise. He collaborated with Walsh and Boyens, who are also part of The Hunt for Gollum.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on SuperHeroHype.
Source: Comingsoon.net