A new The Lord of the Rings movie is planned for 2026, as announced by Warner Bros. It is tentatively titled The Hunt for Gollum and will be produced by Peter Jackson.

A second movie is slated to follow later, with both being produced by Peter Jackson alongside Dame Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The first movie will be directed by Andy Serkis, who will reprise his role as Gollum.

- "For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran, and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision," Warner Bros film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy said.

- "We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history."


The Hunt for Gollum
The upcoming movies are unrelated to Amazon Prime Video's The Rings of Power series, which is expected to return for a second season later this year.

They are also unrelated to the animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is set to debut in theaters this December.


 The first of the two new movie will focus on Gollum

Tolkien fans may know that a British fan short film bearing the exact same title, The Hunt for Gollum, was released in 2009. It was based on the appendices of Tolkien's book, so Warner Bros' upcoming movie may take a similar approach.

While Warner Bros has confirmed that the tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to debut in 2026, details regarding the storyline, cast, and other specifics remain under wraps for now. The movie will debut in theaters and presumably later on the Max streaming service.

- "Yesssss, Precious," Serkis said. "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…"