The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum film is a very interesting prospect, with highly odd stakes. As a prequel and sequel to the main Lord the Rings and The Hobbit films, it operates within strange bounds. We likely know the outcome of its plot, and there’s not much that could be entirely surprising, given the subject matter – but the questions it leaves are very compelling.
What is The Hunt for Gollum going to be? What more can it reveal about the Lord of the Rings story? Who are the major players, and what impact will they have on a plot bound by established books and films?
Here’s everything we know about The Hunt for Gollum so far, including new cast reveals, early plot details, timeline assumptions, and more.
The Hunt for Gollum – quick links
When will The Hunt for Gollum be released?
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently in development, and planned for a full theatrical release on 17 December 2027.
Who is in the cast?
As part of CinemaCon, Warner Bros. Pictures revealed the headlining cast for the film, confirming four returning names and some newbies. Here’s the full list:
- Andy Serkis will return as Gollum, the mutated Stoor who becomes corrupted by the One Ring.
- Elijah Wood will return as Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit who eventually carries the One Ring to Mordor.
- Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf, the Istar who works to protect Middle-earth while disguised as a simple magician.
- Lee Pace will return as Thranduil, the Elven King of Mirkwood, and also the father of LOTR hero Legolas.
- Kate Winslet will debut as a new character known as Marigol, believed to be one of the main leads of the film.
- Leo Woodall will debut as a new character known as Halvard, reportedly a Dúnedain hero.
- Jamie Dornan will play Aragorn (aka Strider) in the film, taking over from Viggo Mortensen. Aragorn is a Dúnedain ranger, who eventually becomes King of Gondor.
Notably, given the cast, we can assume The Hunt for Gollum will follow events from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings directly.
What is The Hunt for Gollum about?
Per details revealed to Empire, The Hunt for Gollum will be set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with a focus on what happens to Gollum after he loses the ring to Bilbo Baggins (in An Unexpected Journey) and prior to his resurfacing in the Mines of Moria (in 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,’ screenwriter Philippa Boyens says. ‘It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.’
Other details reported by long-running fansite TheOneRing.net and Knight Edge Media allege the film will begin with a young version of Gollum, then known as Smeagol (as seen in flashbacks during the original trilogy), before his story unravels. He meets Bilbo, loses the One Ring, and then becomes the subject of a manhunt.
This report claims Aragorn is recruited by Gandalf to track down Gollum, as his knowledge could lead to the location of Sauron.
For now, these additional details haven’t been confirmed, although they do align with information presented in Tolkien’s source material.
Where does The Hunt for Gollum fit in the Lord of the Rings timeline?
This is a sequel to the Hobbit trilogy, and a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here’s where it fits in the current order of The Lord of the Rings film and TV timeline:
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
This film seems to function as the bridge between the main two film trilogies, based on JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy respectively.
What do Tolkien’s books say about the events of The Hunt for Gollum?
Technically, the events of The Hunt for Gollum do occur in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, although it’s fair to say they aren’t the focus.
As in the films, The Hobbit sees Gollum losing the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins in a game of riddles. The Fellowship of the Ring picks up these threads, fleshing out Gollum’s backstory – that he was once a Hobbit-like Stoor, who became corrupted by the One Ring’s evil influence.
In later books, including The Return of the King and Tolkien’s add-on Appendices, what happens next to Gollum is detailed in chunks. As analysed and surfaced by Reddit user Chen_Geller, there’s an entire sub-narrative about Gollum’s adventures within Tolkien’s books, shared across various pieces of dialogue and lore.
In ‘The Shadow of the Past’ – a major chapter in The Lord of the Rings – there are clues that Gollum journeyed to Mirkwood and the Dead Marshes in search of Bilbo after he lost the One Ring. Somewhere in his journey, he’s captured by Sauron, tortured, and shares Bilbo’s location, kicking off the events of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Why is Aragorn in The Hunt for Gollum?
As pointed out by Reddit user Chen_Geller, there are chapters in The Lord of the Rings that indicated Aragorn was part of the initial hunt for Gollum post-The Hobbit, and that he was tasked by Gandalf to find the creature in order to protect the location of the One Ring and Bilbo.
Dialogue suggests that Aragorn is able to find Gollum, and that the creature is captured in the Dead Marshes, a location seen in the film trilogy. That little detail may explain why Aragorn is included in the film – he has a significant skirmish with Gollum prior to the events of Fellowship.
It’s also worth noting that while the film will be set years before the The Lord of the Rings, as a Dúnedain, Aragorn has a longer life span and therefore can appear without it being incongruous to later stories.
Why is Thranduil in The Hunt for Gollum?
Lee Pace returning as Thranduil was perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the casting announcement for The Hunt for Gollum, but analysing descriptions of the book version of the hunt, it’s easy to see how he’ll be included.
Gollum’s hunt for Bilbo post-The Hobbit includes a journey through the Mirkwood, which is overseen by Thranduil. While not specifically named in the books, the character known as ‘The Elvenking’ was adapted to be Thranduil, father of Legolas, in the films. Like his book counterpart, he rules over Mirkwood and controls passage through its borders.
It’s likely Thranduil will appear during the Mirkwood portion of the film, as Gollum attempts to track Bilbo through the woods and encounters various elves along the way.
What other Lord of the Rings spin-offs are in development?
In addition to this compelling Lord of the Rings prequel-sequel, there are many other projects in the works for the franchise.
Prime Video is currently developing the third season of The Rings of Power, which will reportedly focus on Sauron’s designs on creating the One Ring and conquering Middle-earth.
There is also another film in development, with series director Peter Jackson working alongside long-time LOTR fan Stephen Colbert to develop a new story. According to new details, this project could be a sequel to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, titled Shadow of the Past.
It’s believed this project will follow Sam, Merry and Pippin in the years after The Return of the King as they retrace the adventure laid out in the trilogy, while Sam’s daughter, Elanor, goes on her own quest of personal discovery. For now, early details of these projects are yet to be confirmed.
