‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’: New Video Confirms Production Has Begun!! Check It Out!!

The first step in the journey back to Middle Earth has been taken. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is now in production. Director and star Andy Serkis‘ chronicle of the search for the titular hobbit is underway; Serkis announced the start of production with a new video.

In a behind-the-scenes video, Serkis, fully decked out in motion-capture gear, strides on to set. As the movie’s title character, he’s up first; crouching over, he seamlessly transitions into the rasping, wheezing tones of Gollum, the role he first played in Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy over two decades ago, and calls “action!” The video then cuts to some of the impressive sets the production has already constructed in picturesque New Zealand, the longtime home of the franchise’s live-action production. The film is set to hit theaters on December 17, 2027.

What Do We Know About ‘The Hunt for Gollum’?

Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, the film will concern the search for Gollum, the longtime holder of the One Ring, as the threat of Sauron begins to loom over Middle Earth. The wizard Gandalf dispatches the ranger Strider to hunt down Gollum and the ring he possesses before he can betray its location to the forces of evil. Ian McKellen will reprise his role as Gandalf; likewise, Elijah Wood will return as Frodo Baggins, with de-aging used to return them to their appearances in the original films. Lee Pace will return as the elf king Thranduil, which he played in Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. Jamie Dornan, meanwhile, will play Strider, replacing Viggo Mortensen from the earlier films. New characters include the ranger Halvard (Leo Woodall), the elf Seren (Anya Taylor-Joy), and Marigol (Kate Winslet).

Jackson‘s frequent collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are back to write the script for The Hunt for Gollum; joining them are Phoebe Gittens and Arty Papageorgiou, who both penned the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The film is inspired by, but not directly adapted from, the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Jackson, Walsh, Boyens, and Zane Weiner will also produce the movie, which is being released by Warner Bros.