Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum finally announces release date
'Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum' will be released on December 17 2027, New Line Cinema and Warner BRos have announced.
'Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum' will be released on December 17 2027.
The spin-off movie of the hit franchise - which is based on the book series by J.R.R. Tolkien - will see Andy Serkis reprise his role as the titular monster, and on Thursday (08.05.25) developers New Line Cinema and Warner Bros announced the official release date.
As well as starring, Serkis will take on the role of director, whilst Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will serve once again as producers on the project.
Jackson previously explained that it it made sense to explore Gollum/Sméagol more than the likes of Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) with the upcoming film.
He told Deadline: "The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic.
"I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there's a little bit of both of them in all of us."
"We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn't have time to cover in the earlier films."
While Jackson insisted it's "too soon" to make any guesses about which other characters could turn up, he did promise to stay true to 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' author JRR Tolkien's vision.
He added: "It's too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien."
Serkis has been a pioneer in motion capture and voice acting since taking on the role of Gollum, and Jackson insisted there was no doubt he'd be returning for this despite not playing the character for over a decade.
He explained: "Andy was a joy to work with directing Second Unit on 'The Hobbit'.
"He has the energy and imagination and, most importantly, an inherent understanding of the world and of the story that is needed to step back into Middle-earth.
"We have collaborated on eight films together and each time it has been a fantastic experience. There's no one on this Earth better equipped to tackle Gollum's story than Andy."
