‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum' Delayed to 2027

There’s been a lot of talk about Andy Serkis’ upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum,” which would reunite the original cast for this new instalment. Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, and Orlando Bloom have been been asked to return in their respective roles.

Serkis is now telling The Direct that the film’s release has been delayed by a year to December 2027. He plans on shooting ‘Gollum’ next year.

Yeah, it is not 2026. It was originally going to be December 2026. It is going to be December 2027 […] We are right at the beginning of the writing process. We will be prepping later this year. Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs into that December 2027 release date.

Apparently, ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ is set during ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ era, shortly before Frodo Baggins leaves the Shire for Rivendell. The film starts with Gandalf sending Aragorn on a quest to find Gollum.

If you’re wondering exactly how the original cast can possibly come back, all of whom have aged by 20 years, then Philippa Boyens, who is writing the script, recently confided that Serkis would be using “AI technology” and “digital make-up” to achieve that goal.

Boyens adds that only Mortensen has shown hesitancy to return, and that if he refuses to star in ‘Gollum’ then he will have to “hand off” the character to another actor. This would be yet another controversial decision, and one that fans would probably not be too happy about. This whole project sounds misguided, but with Peter Jackson on as producer, I guess anything is possible.

NOTE: It should be additionally mentioned that Serkis, Boyens and Jackson are working on another LOTR film, separate from ‘Gollum,’ but no details have been revealed about that particular project. It is rumored to potentially occur after the events of 2003’s ‘Return of the King.’