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The Hunt for Gollum is still over a year away from arriving on the big screen, but we've got plenty of juicy new updates to tide us over. That's because the full cast of the prequel has now been revealed, which brought some pretty huge reveals with it.
Most interestingly, Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan is taking over from Viggo Mortensen to play Aragorn, and he's joined by several other franchise newcomers, including Kate Winslet. It's not all new faces, though. Some familiar faces are set to return from both the original Lord of the Rings movies and The Hobbit trilogy. For the latest on both of those, read on for our complete guide to the upcoming Lord of the Rings film.
The Hunt for Gollum release date
The Hunt for Gollum's release date has been revealed as December 17, 2027. This news was announced by Warner Bros on May 8, 2025, and we couldn't be more excited. Initially, the film was planned for a December 2026 release window. However, it was revealed during the Fan Expo Vancouver 2025 event (via The Direct) that the movie had been pushed back to 2027.
Although the movie has yet to start filming, star Elijah Wood confirmed at DesertCon that The Hunt for Gollum "is going to be shot in New Zealand," just like the original trilogy was. "So, it is going to carry with it such continuity with so many people who are a part of Lord of the Rings, and I am really excited about that," added the star.
Considering how the movie was only announced in 2024, this timeline does make sense as fantasy movies need time in post-production as well to truly cook. Hopefully, the additional time will result in one of the best fantasy movies of the year!
What is The Hunt for Gollum plot?
While we don't know how the Hunt for Gollum will expand on Tolkien's work (a terrifying thought), we do know that it's based on the appendices of Tolkien's novel. It will take place primarily 17 years after Bilbo's birthday, when he handed over the One Ring to Frodo. Although Peter Jackson's films didn't really show off the lengthy timeline before Frodo left for Rivendell, the events of the movie take place before our main hobbits even leave the Shire.
Basically, worried about the nefarious nature of Frodo's "magic ring," Gandalf is concerned that Gollum would be captured and subsequently reveal information about what he suspects is the One Ring to Sauron's dark forces. In order to try and get to Gollum before Sauron, Gandalf reaches out to Aragorn and asks him to make use of his ranger skills to track the wretched creature down before it's too late.
This results in Aragorn and Gandalf teaming up periodically to search for Gollum together (often resulting in cold trails). Unfortunately, if you've seen or read The Lord of the Rings, you know that Gollum ventured into Mordor and was captured. Gandalf went to dive into researching the One Ring some more to confirm his suspicions, while Aragorn continued the hunt for Gollum, and Gollum continued to be tortured by Sauron in the meantime.
Eventually, Sauron released Gollum after getting all he could out of him, and poor Gollum got himself captured by Aragorn shortly after his newfound freedom. The pair travels for around 50 days, avoiding the enemy when they can, as Aragorn ventures to a safe place to imprison Gollum for interrogation later. Gandalf does get to question Gollum, where he gets further confirmation that Frodo's ring is none other than the One Ring belonging to Sauron.
This led to a sense of urgency and fully kicked off the action that we see in Fellowship as Gandalf returned to the Shire to inform Frodo on his next steps, the Ringwraiths entered the Shire, and a bunch of Orcs allowed Gollum to escape his prison.
There is a lot to go through in terms of the upcoming movie's plot here, but a lot of it involves time skips and simple travel without much confrontation. So we expect the Hunt for Gollum movie to make some changes. There was a fan-made Hunt for Gollum movie that was released back in 2009. This film featured an original story, though, using Tolkien's work as a jumping-off point. So it'll be interesting to see if Warner Bros takes a similar route here.
However, don't expect The Hunt for Gollum to completely follow Peter Jackson's trilogy, as director and star Andy Serkis said to Empire, "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."
In terms of the script, fans can rest easy that the pen is in the capable hands of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. At DesertCon in Mexico (via The Direct), Froddo star Elijah Wood confirmed he knows "a great deal" about the script, and that "it's really good." Walsh and Boyens notably helped pen both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
"The brain trust behind Lord of the Rings, Fran, Peter, Philippa, they are heavily involved," said Wood. "It feels like getting that old machine up and running again with all of the right people."
Then later, in an interview with Empire, writer Boyens described the installment as an "adventure story with a really strong psychological, interior story that’s going on as well."
Where does The Hunt for Gollum fit in the Lord of the Rings timeline?
The Hunt for Gollum technically starts as far back as TA 2944, only a few years after Bilbo's quest in The Hobbit, where Gandalf wished to know how Gollum got the ring in the first place. The Hunt picks up again in TA 3001 after Bilbo's 111th birthday party, where Gandalf's suspicions about the ring heat up to a fever pitch. The Hunt for Gollum then concludes in TA 3018. This is also the year when Frodo and his friends start their journey to Rivendell.
Currently, it's unclear what timeline the upcoming movie will present. The main action of The Hunt for Gollum spans over 17 years. So we are curious to see how Jackson and his team plan to adapt Tolkien's work to fit into a film. Stay tuned for updates!
The Hunt for Gollum cast
The full cast of The Hunt for Gollum was confirmed at 2026's CinemaCon. This features several returning cast members, a major recasting, and some newcomers as well. Read on for the full details of who will be starring in the movie.
- Andy Serkis – Gollum/Sméagol
- Jamie Dornan – Strider/Aragorn
- Sir Ian McKellen – Gandalf
- Elijah Wood – Frodo Baggins
- Lee Pace – Thranduil
- Kate Winslet – Marigol
- Leo Woodall – Halvard
It is worth noting too that this may not be everyone involved in the upcoming film. Warner Bros. may be keeping some surprises up its sleeves and more names may be on the way. For his part, Orlando Bloom has said he hasn't heard anything, but he wouldn't want to see anyone else play the part.
"I have not heard a peep, actually. I don't know. I know it's focusing on Gollum, so anything's possible," Bloom said on Today. "Listen, I'd hate to see anyone else play Legolas, you know what I mean? What are they going to do? Are they going to put somebody else in as Legolas? With AI they can do anything these days!" Watch this space.
And, while Viggo Mortensen may not be returning as Aragorn, he's given his seal of approval for his replacement. "We are thrilled that Jamie's doing it. We're absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo," Serkis said.
Is there a The Hunt for Gollum trailer?
Currently, there is no trailer for the Hunt for Gollum. However, since we now have a release date, we'll likely see a teaser soon. Our money is that the first trailer will drop during San Diego Comic-Con in July this year.
While we wait for the trailer, you can watch the 2009 fan-made movie, The Hunt For Gollum, now on YouTube. Or if you want to dive into a Middle-earth refresher, you can also read our guide on how to watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in order as well.
For more Tolkien fun, check out our list of the best Lord of the Rings games to play today.
