Andy Serkis is set to direct the first of a pair of new Lord Of The Rings films based on his most precious character – Gollum.
It’s a good day to be a Lord Of The Rings fan. First, Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav revealed in an earnings call that we’re getting a new Middle-earth film in 2026 – one based on “storylines yet to be told”, apparently. Very cryptic.
Or it was, until the company’s marketing department announced who’s involved in the first film, now provisionally titled Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. In short, it’s everyone from the first two Middle-earth trilogies.
Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are back in the producers’ chair (more likely a sofa), with Walsh and Boyens reprising their scriptwriting roles from The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit and, as you’d expect for the character who made his name, Andy Serkis is on-board as both star and director.
Warner Bros also confirmed the producers are working on a second film, though that one seems to be a bit further off, with neither a title nor director attached.
Read more: Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes review | A long road forward
In a statement, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens said: “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum! As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with [Warner Bros Pictures’] Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Zaslav and the merry band of Warner Bros have made it clear the company could be making better use of its franchise phenomena, including The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter – we’re expecting a TV series based on the latter, also in 2026.
That year will, coincidentally, mark 25 years since the first installments of two of Warner Bros’ biggest franchises hit the big screen, and five years since Serkis directed the criminally underrated Venom: Let There Be Carnage for Sony. We’re sure one of those anniversaries proved more relevant here.
