The Lord of the Rings movie centered on Gollum has a release date

The Hunt for Gollum movie was initially announced for 2026, but we'll have to wait a little longer than expected to see it in theaters.

The Hunt for Gollum, the next film in the Lord of the Rings universe, will be released in theaters on December 17, 2027, reports Variety. Knowing that new productions arrive in theaters on Fridays in the United States and Wednesdays in France, it is likely that The Hunt for Gollum will be available as early as December 15, 2027 in our country.

So we still have two and a half years to wait before we can dive back into Middle-earth with Smeagol. When the project was made official last year, Warner Bros. initially mentioned a 2026 release, so the audiovisual group has revised its plans in the meantime. All of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films arrived in theaters in December, and The Hunt for Gollum (which should have a French title later) continues this tradition.

The Hunt for Gollum delayed to 2027

Peter Jackson, director of the two successful trilogies, is this time producing this new film, alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum, reprises his iconic role, while also stepping behind the camera, as he will also be directing the feature film. This will not be his first attempt, as he also wore this hat for Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

The plot takes place during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, between Bilbo's birthday party and the Mines of Moria. We'll follow Gollum's journey during this time, with no further details yet. We can hope to see actors reprising their roles from the first film: Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) have indicated that they might be interested in returning if the script is relevant. But nothing has been confirmed yet.

The Hunt for Gollum will be the first live-action Lord of the Rings film since 2014 and the end of the Hobbit saga, concluded with The Battle of the Five Armies. An animated film, The War of the Rohirrim, was released in December 2024.