Warner Bros. has announced that Peter Jackson will be producing new Tolkien films. The first film – The Hunt for Gollum – will be directed by and star Andy Serkis, and is due for release in 2026.
The news of Peter Jackson’s involvement first announced by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav during its first-quarter investor conference call on 9 May 2024:
[Warner Bros.] is now in the early stages of script development for the first of the new Lord of the Rings movies, which we anticipate releasing in 2026 and will explore stories lines yet to be told.
Peter Jackson and his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing and will be involved every step of the way.
Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history, and presents a significant opportunity for our theatrical business.
This was later followed by a press release that revealed the first film has a working title of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum with Andy Serkis set to star and direct.
The title suggests the story will follow Gandalf and Aragorn’s search for Gollum after Gandalf suspected Bilbo’s ring was one of the Rings of Power. This is described in the chapters “The Shadow of the Past” and “The Council of Elrond” in The Fellowship of the Ring, in addition to Appendix B “The Tale of Years” at the end of The Return of the King. There are further details in “The Hunt for the Ring” in Unfinished Tales.
