Recasting Rumor Sparks Excitement for Beloved Character in ‘The Hunt For Gollum’ Update

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is rumored to be recasting one of the franchise’s most iconic characters.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is still in very early development, with shooting expected to begin in New Zealand in mid to late 2026, and its official release scheduled for December 2027, delayed from an initial 2026 start. Details remain scarce, but knowing Peter Jackson’s involvement, it is likely to have an IMAX release.

We have yet to receive many details on the official front, other than Warner Bros. announcing The Hunt for Gollum will be directed by and starring Andy Serkis as Gollum, with Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens producing and officially bringing back original “Rings” cast members like the fan-favorite Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Elijah Wood (Frodo), with both actors recently teasing their involvement at the For the Love of Fantasy fan event in London on Sunday, Aug. 17. Other actors, such as Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), have also expressed interest in returning for the new film, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.

The film’s co-producer Boyens recently told Empire magazine that it’s quite an intense story that picks up “after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines of Moria.” It’s a specific chunk of an incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this extraordinary creature.”

The “Hunt for Gollum” isn’t a single book but a period described across J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, primarily in
The Lord of the Rings (chapters like “The Shadow of the Past” & “Council of Elrond”) and Unfinished Tales (specifically the essay “The Hunt for Gollum”), focusing on Gandalf tasking Aragorn to find Gollum to learn the Ring’s history; it covers Gollum’s capture by Sauron, his release, Aragorn tracking him through the Dead Marshes to Mirkwood, and Gandalf interrogating him before Gollum escapes, all leading up to Frodo’s journey. The film will likely take us back (or forward, depending on how you look at the Lord of the Rings timeline) to when Gollum was hunted by multiple rivals, all after the ring.

In early September 2025, The Rings of Power Facebook handle reported and posted an image of Andy Serkis and his crew’s arrival in New Zealand to begin pre-production for the film. It was a beautiful sight seeing an image of Serkis in front of a Hobbit dwelling since it’s been over 13 years since the
end of principal photography of The Hobbit trilogy.

More recently, though, it has been suggested that Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn role might be recast, with casting for younger actors beginning soon, but this news is unsubstantiated at this time. The three-time Oscar nominee for Best Actor met Pope Leo XIV after a meeting with the World of Cinema back in November, with the Pope praising the work of the film artist. Mortensen hasn’t been short of work lately and has been quite busy with his latest Western film he wrote, directed, and stars in titled The Dead Don’t Hurt, where he plays a man in the Wild West opposite Vicky Krieps.

The upcoming ‘Gollum’ films co-producer Boyens also added in her interview with Empire that Mortensen was in some doubt about whether he would be returning:

Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively, and we are at a very early stage,” she said. “I’ve spoken to Viggo, Andy [Serkis] has spoken to him, Peter [Jackson] has spoken to him, we’ve all spoken to each other and honestly, I cannot imagine anyone else playing Aragorn, but it will be completely and entirely up to Viggo.

The character of Aragorn will play a prominent role in the film, so having another actor other than Mortensen back in the fray might be a little jarring for some. We will definitely have to wait and see for any further updates on this development. This would be a game changer for me; nevertheless.

One other thing to take note of. Apparently, it’s been reported that Netflix has purchased Warner Bros, pending regulatory approval. We know that the company was up for sale, but many didn’t think Netflix would be the one to take it over.

The question that Ringers and fans of The Lord of the Rings across the world should be asking is what this means for Middle-earth on film. Do the rights change? Does this affect ‘Hunt for Gollum?’  

Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros doesn’t necessarily shift Middle-earth rights; Middle-earth Enterprises (now owned by Embracer Group), which holds the core film rights, with WB being a licensee. This means new films, like The Hunt for Gollum, are still planned with New Line Cinema (under WB), but Netflix would now own the studio making them, creating interesting future possibilities, though the fundamental IP rights stay with Embracer. There’s obviously a lot of legal issues to sort out and studio executives who will be entering the fold, but what we do know is that, at the time of this writing, the film is still on track to begin filming and that until fans hear otherwise, they shouldn’t be worried.

If you’re impatient and wanting more news than what’s alive at this time, we can’t give that to you; however, if you need something to pass the time, you can always turn toward the not-for-profit unofficial fan-made ‘Hunt for Gollum’ film, created from scratch way back in 2009 by indie filmmakers in the U.K. as a tribute to The Lord of the Rings books (and inspired by the films of Peter Jackson). It was directed by Chris Bouchard, and it’s absolutely fantastic. I’m surprised I’ve never seen this before today.

You can check out the Youtube video below:

Fans will have to wait two more years to see exactly how Frodo, Gandalf, and Gollum factor into the events of Serkis’s movie; until then… I usually leave on a tagline from the film, but while there isn’t one definitive tagline for Tolkien’s book text, taglines for the The Hunt for Gollum film echoed book lines like Aragorn’s “And I counselled that we should hunt for Gollum, too late though it may seem.”