Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it was working on “multiple Lord of the Rings movies’’ with New Line Cinema, the production company that put out Peter Jackson’s original trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. Now, we know when the first of those new movies is probably hitting theaters.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s first new Lord of the Rings movie is due out in 2026
Andy Serkis is set to direct and star in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new film produced by Peter Jackson for Warner Bros.
Andy Serkis is set to direct and star in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new film produced by Peter Jackson for Warner Bros.
Photo: New Line Cinema
is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.
During an earnings call today, WBD CEO David Zaslav announced that the company expects Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum to debut sometime in 2026 and “explore storylines yet to be told.” Andy Serkis is set to direct the film and reprise his role as the titular Hobbit-like man whose encounters with the One Ring transform him into a crazed ghoul, and Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens have joined the project as producers.
In a statement about the movie, Serkis hissed “yesssss, Precious,” and Jackson added that it “is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth.”
Currently, no other casting announcements have been made, and WBD hasn’t shared specifics about the film’s plot. But with its projected release date not all that far off, it shouldn’t be long before we start hearing more about what’s next for the man formerly known as Sméagol.
Update May 9th, 10AM ET: Article has been updated with more details and quotes from Warner Bros. Discovery.
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