The first part of the spinoff will be released in 2026, and several key actors from the «Lord of the Rings» trilogy have already said they are interested in returning to their roles.
Ian McKellan gave an interview This Morning show, where, among other things, he revealed some details of the upcoming «The Lord of the Rings movie: The Hunt for Gollum» —, including the fact that the film will be divided into two parts and a hint that the actor is not going to give the role of Gandalf to someone else:
«I don’t like the idea of someone else playing Gandalf,» McKellan said. «I heard that there are two parts to the movie. And maybe I shouldn’t say that».
It seems that the authors decided to repeat the story of «Hobbit» — the story was stretched into a trilogy, which many fans did not like (for example, for «The Lord of the Rings» this move was justified, since the original work was originally a trilogy, while the story of the Hobbit — is shorter and quite independent)
«The Hunt for Gollum» — is a side story that takes place off-screen during the early part of «The Fellowship of the Ring» when Gandalf and Aragorn track down Gollum to find out what he knows about Sauron’s return.
As a reminder, McCallan has already received an official offer to join the moviealthough he did not provide a meaningful comment on his answer — he only said that he would take a vacation until the end of 2024 (while in 2025 the filming of a new story about «The Lord of the Rings» is supposed to start).
Several of the key actors in the Peter Jackson trilogy have also spoken of a possible return: Orlando Bloom, for example, discussed with the filmmakers the possibility of playing Legolas again (not without the help of AI), while Viggo Mortensen claimed that he also wouldn’t mind returning to the role of Aragorn (if applicable).
Recall that in February 2023, Warner Bros. signed an agreement to create «several» films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, and this year in May announced that the first film, titled «The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum» will be released in 2026.
Andy Serkis will direct and star in the title role. Peter Jackson is attached as a producer, and original trilogy co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will write the screenplay — teaming with the writers of the animated film «The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirim» Phoebe Gittins and Artie Papageorgiou.
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