Everything we know about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
"The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" is set to hit cinemas in 2027. But who's in the cast and what is it about?

In an absolute win for anyone who grew up with a Legolas poster on their bedroom wall (represent), we're getting more Lord of the Rings movie action. Give it to us raw and wriggling.
With new details announced at CinemaCon on Tuesday, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to hit cinemas in 2027, with some of the original cast from Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's books returning to their iconic roles. However, there are also new faces afoot playing beloved characters.
SEE ALSO: How 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' adapts two pages of Tolkien lore into a whole movieSo what is The Hunt for Gollum about? And who's playing Aragorn, who isn't Viggo Mortensen? Here's everything we know about the film — we needs it.
What is The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum about?
Precious.
Credit: New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock
TL;DR — The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum sits on the timeline between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, closer to the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Andy Serkis, the actor who defined the tricksy, tragic character Gollum/Sméagol for the screen in Jackson's Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, is reprising his role in The Hunt for Gollum, a film he's also directing.
In a win for fans, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, the tremendous trio responsible for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, are producing — the band's back together. Boyens and Walsh are writing the screenplay with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Featured Video For You How 'The War of the Rohirrim' connects to the original The Lord of the Rings trilogyFrom Tolkien's books and Jackson's films, we know Sméagol was a hobbit whose obsession with the One Ring saw him murder his bestie Déagol for it, flee into the Misty Mountains, and transform into the creature Gollum, plagued by his ill-fated allegiance to "the precious." The Hunt for Gollum takes place around the start of events of The Fellowship of the Ring, so we're talking the Third Age, but it's not clear where things will pick up (leaks suggest "the shadowed time between Bilbo's birthday disappearance and the Fellowship's formation").
Unless you've read The Fellowship of the Ring and Tolkien's appendices, the only thing most of us know Gollum was doing around this time was being tortured in Mordor for information about where the One Ring was ("Shire, Baggins") but what happened between that, Frodo leaving the Shire, getting chased by Ringwraiths, meeting Aragorn, heading to Rivendell, and Gandalf realising Gollum was stalking the Fellowship in the Mines of Moria?
Ian McKellen (who's back as Gandalf, people!) told The Times, "The script is designed to appeal to people who like Lord of the Rings...It’s an adventure story, Aragorn trying to find Gollum with Gandalf directing operations from the sidelines." Meanwhile, Tolkien fan site TheOneRing.net (via Guardian) posted a leak suggesting, "we meet young Sméagol...long before The One Ring consumed him...With the ring lost and carried away by Bilbo Baggins, Gollum finds himself compelled to leave his cave in search of it. Gandalf the Grey calls upon Aragorn, still known as the ranger Strider, to track the elusive creature whose knowledge of the whereabouts of the ring could tip the balance toward the Dark Lord Sauron."
Who's in the cast for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum?
They're baaaaack.
Credit: New Line/WireImage
Announced by Warner Bros. and New Line at CinemaCon on Apr. 14, the cast for The Hunt for Gollum includes original trilogy favourites and newcomers to iconic roles.
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Returning
Andy Serkis — Gollum/Sméagol
Sir Ian McKellen — Gandalf
Elijah Wood — Frodo Baggins
Lee Pace — Thranduil
Serkis will, of course, reprise his role as the titular Gollum/Sméagol, but he's not alone. Elijah Wood will step back into his hairy feet as Frodo Baggins, the hobbit who took the One Ring all the way to Mordor and (thanks to his gardener, Samwise Gamgee) destroyed it despite much emo and ennui. The illustrious Sir Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf, the ultimate wizard of Middle Earth (I said what I said).
From The Hobbit trilogy, Lee Pace will return as Thranduil, the Elvenking of Mirkwood, who, like Orlando Bloom, sold a fair few GHD straighteners in his time.
New
Jamie Dornan — Aragorn/Strider
Kate Winslet — Marigol
Leo Woodall — Halvard
Aragorn aka Strider aka Chieftain of the Dúnedain, a role crystallised by Viggo Mortensen in the 2000s, will be played by Jamie Dornan. Joining him will be Leo Woodall as Halvard, a fellow Dúnedain and hunting companion to Aragorn. And her eminence Kate Winslet joins the cast as a yet-to-be-detailed character called Marigol.
Also, in the cast announce above, the video features music by Howard Shore, super-composer for all the Lord of the Rings projects, so hopefully his involvement is a Shore thing.
When does The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum hit cinemas?
Call off the Great Eagle rideshare because you're going to have to wait.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be showing in cinemas Dec. 17, 2027. It's giving the December dates we used to look forward to during the original trilogies.