Warner Brothers has announced the first instalment of the new set of the beloved J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth fantasy enterprise ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ The new film will focus on the titular character of Gollum with the film being titled ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ which is slated to premiere in 2026.

The upcoming installment will be directed by Andy Serkis, who also portrays the character of Gollum. Joining him are the original ‘Lord of The Rings’ trilogy filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, who are producing the film and actively participating in every stage of its development. Serving as executive producers are Ken Kamins, Andy Serkis, and Jonathan Cavendish from The Imaginarium.

The trinity behind the original trilogy Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens have expressed their enthusiasm upon re-working with Serkis who is all set to star in the lead role of the upcoming film and has also expressed his excitement to enter the world of the ‘Lord of The Rings’ once again with the filmmakers.

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Serkis said, “Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more 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 quest as well, alongside WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”

The project aims to take over and explore the untold storylines of Tolkien’s fantastical universe. The script is in development with the minds of Walsh, Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou in work to etch a fresh story for the Middle Earth Franchise project.

These developments follow the Warner Brother’s efforts to expand the J.R.R. Tolkien cinematic universe with studio leaders breaking a new deal to make multiple films on the author’s books. The upcoming projects will be developed under the studio’s label, New Line Cinema. The films will be adapting ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of The Rings’ under the venture Middle Earth Enterprise.

Another ‘Lord of The Rings’ animated movie titled ‘Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim’ has been slated for December 2024. Set 200 years before the events of ‘The Hobbit’ the film has been directed by Kenji Kamiyama.

The ‘Lord of The Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ boast of a combined box office collection of almost $6 billion. The first LOTR trilogy together amassed 30 Oscar nominations with 17 of them turning into wins with ‘The Return of The King’ bagging best picture and best director among its record 11 Academy Award wins tying with ‘Titanic’ and ‘Ben-Hur.