Warner Bros. will release the new Lord of the Rings film The Hunt for Gollum in 2026, Peter Jackson will produce and Andy Serkis will direct

Warner Bros. will release the first of its new live-action Lord of the Rings films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’ Gollum.

Original “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the film and “will be involved every step of the way,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during a conference call on Thursday.

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The project is currently in the early stages of script development by writers Walsh and Boyens, as well as Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, and will “explore storylines yet to be told,” Zaslav said.

In a press release from Warner Bros. later Thursday morning, the studio announced that the film’s working title is “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” and will direct and star Serkis in his iconic title role. The film is produced by Ken Kamins along with Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium.

Warner Bros. first announced in February 2023 that then-newly installed studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy had negotiated a deal to make “multiple” films based on the popular JRR Tolkien books. The projects are being developed by WB’s New Line Cinema label. Freemode, a division of Embracer Group, has secured the adaptive rights deal for books including “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” under a company called Middle-earth Enterprises.

A separate animated Middle-earth film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, will be released on December 13th via Warner Bros. and director Kenji Kamiyama. This film takes place 200 years before the events of The Hobbit.

“For more than two decades, moviegoers have loved The Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of Peter, Fran and Philippa’s undeniable commitment to protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works and ensuring audiences experience the incredible world in which he lived created in a way that honors his literary vision,” De Luca and Abdy said in a statement on Thursday. “We are honored that they have agreed to be our partners on these two new films. With Andy taking over as director of Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to evolve and continue to contribute to the Lord of the Rings film Story.”

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens added: “It is an honor and a privilege to return to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that stinker – Gollum! As lifelong fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”

“Yeah, darling,” Serkis said. “It is time once again to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable Guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike and Pam and the Warner Bros. team on the hunt, along with WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand, it’s just too delicious…”

The original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, directed by Jackson, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide; Jackson’s follow-up trilogy, based on Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”, was able to keep up with these box office results.

Jackson’s first LOTR trilogy starred Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin and Cate Blanchett. This trio of films was nominated for 30 Academy Awards and won 17 trophies, including Best Picture for 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

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