The Next Lord of the Rings Movie Has a 'Great' Script, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav Says, With Shooting Set for Next Year

Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has a “great” script, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav has said.

Speaking during a fiscal call, Zaslav listed Lord of the Rings arsenic 1 of Warner Bros.’ "big tentpoles" alongside the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Harry Potter.

It was astatine this constituent that Zaslav commented connected Lord of the Rings directly:

“We've got a large publication connected Lord of the Rings with Peter Jackson that we're moving guardant connected and we'll beryllium giving you much item connected that.”

That’s not overmuch to spell on, but we bash cognize shooting is acceptable to statesman aboriginal to mid-2026, with a December 17, 2027 merchandise day confirmed. We besides cognize the movie volition spot prima and manager Andy Serkis reprise his relation arsenic Gollum, arsenic the rubric suggests.

Warner Bros. has said The Hunt for Gollum is successful information the archetypal of 2 caller Lord of the Rings diagnostic films from Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens based connected J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, arsenic the institution aims to marque much of the franchise. With The Hunt for Gollum, we’ll get to spot what Gollum was up to successful the years betwixt The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

But could different Lord of the Rings actors travel suit? In an interrogation with MovieWeb to beforehand his caller film, Deep Cover, the 48-year-old Orlando Bloom discussed the anticipation of Legolas returning for The Hunt for Gollum. Apart from precise overmuch being into the idea, helium said that Legolas would person to beryllium the aforesaid property arsenic helium was successful the archetypal trilogy, and to execute that, the filmmakers would person to usage AI-powered de-ageing technology.

Bloom played Legolas archetypal successful 2001's beloved The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, aged 24. 24 years later, is simply a Legolas instrumentality realistic? We bash cognize Hunt for Gollum is acceptable to spot a fig of celebrated faces return, including Gandalf. The 86-year-old Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf successful The Lord of the Rings, has said he'd beryllium unfastened to returning arsenic the wizard truthful agelong arsenic property didn't drawback up to him. Aragorn histrion Viggo Mortensen is besides unfastened to returning.

In June, Serkis touched connected the code fans tin expect from The Hunt for Gollum, and issued an update connected erstwhile filming volition begin.

“We're precise aboriginal connected successful the process,” helium said. “We've been talking astir the movie implicit the people of the past year. We’re astir to commencement a play of prep successful the adjacent fewer months oregon so. We volition beryllium shooting successful the aboriginal to mid-part of adjacent year, I guess, and past it'll beryllium arsenic agelong arsenic it takes to shoot, which — it's a sizable movie — each acceptable for a December 2027 release.

“I'm incredibly excited to spell backmost and enactment with my friends and household successful New Zealand and really bash thing which is, I think, going to beryllium surprising, and yet precise overmuch portion of the lore and the consciousness of the trilogy. The sensibility of it volition feel, I think, adjacent to that, and yet we're investigating successful greater extent the quality formerly known arsenic Smeagol, but mostly known arsenic Gollum.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].