Frodo and Gandalf Return in New LOTR Movie Nobody Asked For

Warner Bros. and New Line have officially announced The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (working title), with a release date of December 17, 2027. It'll be directed by Andy Serkis, who'll also return as Gollum, naturally.

The news broke during the For The Love of Fantasy convention in London, where Sir Ian McKellen joined his old Fellowship co-stars Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan on stage. In true wizard fashion, McKellen teased just enough to set off a firestorm online:

"I hear there's going to be another movie set in Middle-earth, and it's going to start filming in May. It's going to be directed by Gollum, and it's all about Gollum… I'll tell you two secrets about the casting: There's a character in the movie called Frodo, and there's a character in the movie called Gandalf. Apart from that, my lips are sealed."

No confirmation yet on whether McKellen or Wood are officially returning, but McKellen has said in the past that he's open to wearing the pointy hat again. So yeah — if they call, he'll likely pick up.

Alongside Serkis, the usual suspects are back behind the camera. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are producing. Walsh and Boyens are also co-writing the script with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. If those names sound familiar, it's because they're the exact team behind both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

So yes — this is an "official" LOTR project, not some random spin-off.

Fan Reactions: Equal Parts Hype and "Why?"

The internet didn't take long to weigh in. Some fans are cautiously excited. Others mocked the whole "directed by Gollum" thing — dubbing it "Andy's Circus" and wondering if Frodo and Gandalf will be digitally de-aged or just "viggified." One commenter predicted we're getting "an extended Bag End kitchen scene" based on Gandalf's monologues. Others simply asked if this was all an elaborate joke.

Fans still haven't forgotten The Lord of the Rings: Gollum video game — widely considered one of the worst of the decade. The devs even apologized for it, though they managed to call it The Lord of Ring: Gollum™ in their own apology. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

Then there's The Hobbit trilogy hangover — a padded, CGI-heavy prequel that turned a 300-page children's book into 8 hours of film.

As one commenter put it: "LOTR was lightning in a bottle. You can't recreate that again, and you definitely can't do it with Gollum as the lead."

And yeah, Andy Serkis is beloved as an actor. But his directorial résumé (which includes Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Mowgli) has been… inconsistent.

So What Do We Know?

Not much beyond McKellen's cryptic comments and the official production team. Filming begins May 2025, with the film landing just before Christmas 2027. Frodo and Gandalf will appear in some form — maybe played by the originals, maybe not. The focus is Gollum.

And while plenty of fans are bracing for another nostalgia-fueled letdown, others are willing to wait and see. Either way, Middle-earth's coming back. Again. Ready or not.