Everything We Know About the Next ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is shaping up to be another epic journey through Middle-earth with a seriously impressive cast. Recent announcements have only ramped up the hype around the fantasy film, which was first announced in May 2024 and will reach the big screen in 2027.

While there’s no full trailer quite yet, Warner Bros. has shared teaser and cast-reveal material on social media. Hopefully the wait for a full preview won’t be quite as long as the quest for the Ring. Here’s everything we know so far, including the confirmed cast, plot details, trailer news, and that all-important release date.

What’s the big idea?

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will sit between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, with its main story unfolding after Bilbo’s 111th birthday party and before the Fellowship reaches the Mines of Moria. It follows Aragorn’s perilous quest to capture Gollum before the creature can reveal the Ring’s location to Sauron.

The story has reportedly been developed from Tolkien’s wider Middle-earth lore. Cowriter Philippa Boyens—who is writing alongside Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou— told Empire magazine that the film is “quite an intense story” that “falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines of Moria. It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”

Andy Serkis will direct the film and once again star in the title role, returning to a character he has played via motion capture since 2002’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Who’s in the cast?

Plenty of Middle-earth veterans are returning, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, and Lee Pace as Thranduil. New for this outing is Anya Taylor-Joy, who will play Seren, a Sindar elf of the woodland realm and a trusted, lethal agent of King Thranduil. Warner Bros. announced Taylor-Joy’s casting with a special, spooky Instagram Reel:

Meanwhile, Jamie Dornan will play Strider, Aragorn’s alias in The Lord of the Rings—a role previously played onscreen by Viggo Mortensen. Strider is a Dúnadan ranger of the north and heir to the throne of Gondor. Kate Winslet stars as Marigol, while Leo Woodall will play Halvard.

When’s the release date?

The good news is that, after it had been pushed back from 2026, we’ve finally got an official release date. The bad news is that there’s still a bit of a wait. In keeping with LotR tradition, the release date lands in the Christmas season: The film will be in cinemas on December 17, 2027.

What comes after The Hunt for Gollum?

Another Middle-earth film is already in the works. The next one Warner Bros. lined up is The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, which is cowritten by Philippa Boyens, Stephen Colbert, and Colbert’s son, Peter McGee.