The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new film from the popular fantasy world, awaits us in 2026. Lord of the Rings fans, however, have mixed feelings about it.
After the last film in the Lord of the Rings cosmos reached us on the big screen ten years ago with the grand finale of the Hobbit trilogy, we last saw Middle-earth again in series form in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While we can expect a return to cinemas later this year with the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, another live-action adventure is now planned for theaters.
With The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new Lord of the Rings film has surprisingly been announced for the cinema, which will focus on previously untold years in the life of fan favorite Gollum. Andy Serkis is not only set to return in his iconic role, but will also take his place in the director’s chair, while Peter Jackson is involved as producer. The news has so far led to mixed feelings and lively online discussions among fans of the fantasy franchise
Announcement of The Hunt for Gollum causes mixed feelings among Lord of the Rings fans
So one Lord of the Rings fan on X (formerly Twitter) is particularly excited about the announcement, as both Andy Serkis and Peter Jackson are involved in the project:
Wait a minute, that means we’re getting an all-new Lord of the Rings movie produced by Peter Jackson called The Hunt for Gollum, with Andy Serkis directing and starring…. Holy crap.
Wait so we’re getting a whole new LordoftheRings film, produced by Peter Jackson called The Hunt for Gollum and it will be directed by and star Andy Serkis…. Holy shit pic.twitter.com/e1ELcW9vDs
– Lewis John Yule (@LewisJohnY2) May 9, 2024
Another fan is excited about the possibilities of the untold Golllum story:
This could be an interesting story, showing us Aragorn searching for Gollum in the Dead Marshes before taking him into the Bleak Forest. I’ll be watching that since Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis are coming back. I’m very interested
New Lord of the Rings movie announced.
The Hunt for Gollum. Now this could be an interesting story to tell showing how Aragon hunted Gollum in the Dead Marshes before taking him to Mirkwood.
I will check this out and with Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis coming back I’m interested pic.twitter.com/6Vdi7waiDF– Dylan John Ormesher (@DylanJohn93) May 10, 2024
Other Lord of the Rings fans, however, are not particularly enthusiastic about the news and wonder why a story is being told about the character Gollum of all people. One fan writes on X: “NOBODY CARES ABOUT GOLLUM”, while another says: “It’s great that Peter Jackson is involved, but I don’t understand why they choose to tell this story. “
Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum.
Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the… pic.twitter.com/WIaw5gahbl
– Variety (@Variety) May 9, 2024
Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum.
Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the… pic.twitter.com/WIaw5gahbl
– Variety (@Variety) May 9, 2024
In addition, some Lord of the Rings fans consider the premise of the story to be less innovative and would instead like to see other films from the Tolkien universe that are based on the author’s actual work. One fan writes on X: “The Hunt for Gollum? It’s like they’re not even trying anymore.” Another fan formulates harsher criticism:
Sh*t on this. The Hunt for Gollum? More fanfiction bullsh*t set in Tolkien’s world. Either adapt Tolkien’s words or don’t make Lord of the Rings movies at all. Tolkien’s Legendarium is not another fantasy sandbox for inappropriate ideas to ruin it. F*ck you
New: Peter Jackson will produce the next Lord of the Rings movie that is set to be released in 2026 called The Hunt for Gollum. pic.twitter.com/CaxAwrv9wN
– The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) May 9, 2024
Fuck this. “The Hunt For Gollum”? More fanfiction bullshit placed in Tolkien’s world. Either adapt Tolkien’s words or don’t make Lord Of The Rings at all. Tolkien’s Legendarium isn’t just another fantasy sandbox for out of touch suits to ruin. Fuck you https://t.co/kRSyADH8t1
– Nidstang_Under The Bun (@UTB_Nidstang) May 9, 2024
Other fans recall the fan film with the same title, The Hunt for Gollum, which was uploaded to YouTube in 2009: “A reminder to everyone that a movie called The Hunt for Gollum was released back in 2009. It was directed by Chris Bouchard and stars Adrian Webster as Aragorn. “
Reminder that there already was a movie released called THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM in 2009! ⚔️
Directed by Chris Bouchard and starring Adrian Webster as Aragorn pic.twitter.com/lfnOc0N4eh
– The Mellon Heads – TOLKIEN Podcast (@mellon_heads) May 9, 2024
The fan film was blocked on YouTube shortly after the official announcement of the cinema project by Warner Bros.
