The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be just one movie, while another live-action Lord of the Rings film is being planned.
It was announced in May 2024 that Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, planned to direct a new movie set in Middle Earth that is tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Set to be released in 2026, the film is being written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou.
About a month ago, Gandalf star Ian McKellen said that, based on what he had been told, he was under the impression that The Hunt for Gollum’s story will be told over the course of two movies.
Speaking Empire Magazine, Boyens confirmed that The Hunt for Gollum will only be one movie. There is, however, another live-action Lord of the Rings film that is being planned.
What did Philippa Boyens say about The Lord of the Rings and The Hunt for Gollum?
“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films! That was a genuine misunderstanding that happened because we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films,” Boyens said. “The first being The Hunt For Gollum, the second one still to be confirmed.”
Boyens said of why McKellen thought The Hunt for Gollum would be two movies, “We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf. So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films.”
While plot details for the other live-action film remain under wraps at this time, The Hunt for Gollum will be set during the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
“It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria,” she said. “It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released in 2026.
