Ian McKellen Drops Major Updates on the New Lord of the Rings Movie

Middle-earth is clocking back in. Ian McKellen just gave fans a real update on the next Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum, and it is surprisingly specific for a franchise that usually plays things close to the vest.

What McKellen actually said

On stage at the For the Love of Fantasy event in London, McKellen confirmed the movie is happening and said cameras are set to roll in May 2026. He also dropped this wink-wink casting tease:

"It’s going to be directed by Gollum, and it’s all about Gollum. But I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting. There’s a character in the movie called Frodo and another character called Gandalf, and apart from that, my lips are sealed."

Important note: he did not outright say he is back as Gandalf or that Elijah Wood is back as Frodo. Both were at the event alongside other original trilogy cast members, which is exactly the kind of thing that keeps the rumor mill happy.

Who is making it and where it fits

Andy Serkis, the original Gollum himself, is directing. The story is set just before The Fellowship of the Ring and told from Gollum’s point of view, while Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sauron are all trying to track him down. Aragorn will be recast with a younger actor (so, no, not Viggo Mortensen this time). Peter Jackson is producing along with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Jackson and the wider LOTR machine

For context: the original LOTR trilogy wrapped in 2003. McKellen, Wood, and Jackson later returned for The Hobbit films. Jackson did not work on Amazon’s The Rings of Power, but he did produce The War of the Rohirrim, the franchise’s first animated entry, with Walsh and Boyens — the same team now shepherding The Hunt for Gollum. So the creative DNA here is very much the Jackson-era Middle-earth.

The brass tacks (aka the timeline and the studio’s enthusiasm)

• Director: Andy Serkis
• Producers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
• Story setup: Pre-Fellowship timeline, told from Gollum’s perspective
• Key players in the plot: Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sauron are searching for Gollum
• Aragorn: Recast with a younger actor
• Frodo and Gandalf: Characters are in the movie; casting not officially confirmed
• Development: As of June 2025, Serkis said the team had spent about a year developing it and was heading into pre-production
• Production start: May 2026 (McKellen’s latest update, lining up with the earlier early-to-mid 2026 target)
• Release target: December 2027
• Studio stance: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has it pegged as a top priority alongside new Batman, Superman, and Harry Potter projects

The read

McKellen’s careful wording is doing a lot of work here. He basically confirmed the movie will feature Frodo and Gandalf without saying who is playing them. The timeline and POV are a fun twist: Gollum’s story right on the doorstep of Fellowship, with the big three (Gandalf, Aragorn, Sauron) closing in. And Serkis directing a movie about Gollum feels like the most obvious good idea in years.