‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’ will hit cinemas in 2027

8 May, 2025

Warner Bros. Pictures have confirmed the release date for Andy Serkis’ new Lord Of The Rings spin-off film.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum was provisionally announced in 2023, with Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in the original Peter Jackson film trilogy, returning to the role and also directing the film.

As reported by Deadline on Thursday (May 8), that film will now be released into cinemas on December 17, 2027. That incidentally is the same date that Disney have currently named as a placeholder for an untitled Star Wars film, but this is now expected to change.

The mid-to-late December release window proved successful for the Jackson trilogy from 2001 to 2003 and his subsequent Hobbit trilogy from 2012 to 2014. Collectively, the films have grossed nearly $6billion (£4.5billion) worldwide.

However, the franchise’s recent foray into anime with The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim was released in December last year and underperformed at the box office, earning just over £20million (£15million) worldwide.

The Hunt For Gollum will feature a screenplay from Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, two of the original writers of the original trilogy, alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Walsh and Boyens are also producing, alongside Jackson.

It is expected to be set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship Of The Ring, exploring untold stories from the life of Gollum, including how he was pursued by Sauron, Gandalf and Aragorn.

Warners are also working on a second live-action film set in Middle Earth that remains untitled. Sir Ian McKellen said last year that he would consider returning to the role of Gandalf if he is “still alive” when they are being made.

Viggo Mortensen has also weighed in on the possibility of returning to the franchise to reprise his role of Aragorn. “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. It would be silly to do it otherwise,” he said.

Meanwhile, the prequel TV series The Rings Of Power will definitely return for a third season, Amazon Prime Video confirmed earlier this year. The second season ran from August to October 2024, with new episodes expected to start shooting imminently.

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