Peter Jackson once pitched a Lord of the Rings' "film 3.5" which sounds exactly like what we're getting with The Hunt for Gollum

Upcoming The Lord of the Rings spin-off The Hunt for Gollum is set to take a leaf out of It: Welcome to Derry's book, as it adapts the appendices from J.R.R Tolkien's epic novel. Turns out, though, director Peter Jackson floated the idea of bringing the never-before-seen subplots to life almost 25 years ago.

With over a year to go before we reunite with Andy Serkis's Sméagol, fans have un(Middle)earthed Jackson's commentary from The Fellowship of the Ring's Extended Edition DVD, in which he and writer Philippa Boyens discuss their idea for a "film we'll never make."

"There's great stuff in the book that we just couldn't put into the movie, and I've just always loved that when Gandalf leaves Baggins he goes and joins up with Aragorn, and the two of them hunt Gollum down," he explains. "We've got this little remnant, which is Gollum being tortured, but we could never obviously do the bit where Aragorn and Gandalf track Gollum down. It's a neat idea, it would've been great to squeeze it in the film somehow."

Later, he and Boyens discuss the reunion scene between Orlando Bloom's Legolas and Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), referencing the fact that they "know each other, because of the Gollum story." Listen to the clips, posted by The Mellon Head – The LOTR podcast.

Elsewhere, Boyens flagged other side quests from the source material that would be fun to see on the big screen, including "Saruman's search for the ring". Maybe there will be a time when that's brought to life, too...

The Hunt for Gollum, which'll star Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood alongside Serkis, is set for a December 17, 2027 release. Warner Bros. has confirmed the studio will be recasting Aragorn to remain in-keeping with the prequels timeline.

"It is a phenomenal challenge, exciting and of course terrifying at the same time," Serkis, who'll be directing, previously Empire magazine. "We have a very specific task ahead of us. A return to Middle-earth that satisfies the passion and the love that generations of Lord of the Rings fans have for these stories, whilst also presenting something completely fresh and new for first-timers to Middle-earth, with one of Tolkien's richest and most complex characters at its heart."

While we wait, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.