Return to Middle-earth: New Live-Action Lord of the Rings Trilogy Could Kick Off Next Year

Middle-earth might be getting busy again. Warner Bros. Pictures is lining up The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum for late 2027, with Andy Serkis directing and slipping back into Gollum mode. And if a new rumor is right, that movie could be the opening chapter of a fresh live-action trilogy starting as soon as next year.

So what changed?

On The Hot Mic, reporter Jeff Sneider said the studio is cooking up more than just one return trip to Middle-earth and that The Hunt for Gollum would kick things off.

"I'm told there's a new trilogy."

"I think it would be the first one."

Warner Bros. Pictures has only put one Middle-earth movie on the calendar so far, but the tea leaves definitely look like franchise planning. Whether the studio announces parts two and three soon or waits to see opening-weekend math is the real question.

Casting check-in

Serkis is pulling double duty here: directing The Hunt for Gollum and returning as the character that made performance capture a household term. He originally played Gollum/Sméagol in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and also popped up in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Ian McKellen has locked in to return as Gandalf. Elijah Wood has been heavily hinting he will be back as Frodo; official word on that remains to come.

Release date and the bigger plan

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently set for December 17, 2027 in United States theaters. If this really is part one of three, expect the studio to either roll out the rest of the plan with fanfare or play it close to the vest until the first movie proves itself. Either way, Warner Bros. likes trilogies. History backs that up.

The essentials right now

• Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• Release: December 17, 2027 (U.S. theaters)
• Director: Andy Serkis
• Returning cast: Andy Serkis as Gollum/Sméagol; Ian McKellen as Gandalf
• Likely return: Elijah Wood as Frodo (strongly teased, not yet announced)
• Rumored strategy: A new live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, with The Hunt for Gollum as the first chapter
• Officially on the books beyond that: Only The Hunt for Gollum is dated so far

Short version: Serkis is back, Gandalf is back, Frodo might be back, and Warner Bros. could be turning Gollum's obsession into a trilogy-sized plan. Clear your December 2027 calendar either way.