A Gollum movie with Andy Serkis marks first of a new "batch" of Lord of the Rings movies – and Peter Jackson is involved "every step of the way"

Sir Ian McKellan as Gandalf the White in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Warner Bros. has announced they're releasing a new Lord of the Rings film very soon. In an earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed a new batch of movies are in development with the first, The Hunt for Gollum, to be released in 2026.

Per Variety, The Hunt for Gollum sees Andy Serkis return as Gollum, as well as helming the film. It will be the first major live-action movie set in-universe since The Hobbit movies. The Gollum movie will "explore storylines yet to be told" based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels, and will kick off a new batch of films. 

Most excitingly too for fans of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson (who is the mastermind behind the previous movies) will be involved again. He and his writing partners, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, are on board as producers. According to Zaslav, they "will be involved every step of the way".

"Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for theatrical business," Zaslav added of the news.

Other Lord of the Rings projects are in the making too. This includes an animated film called The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is due out in December. Elsewhere, Prime Video has the rights to The Rings of Power, which is currently in production on its second season.

For more, check out our guides to how to watch The Lord of the Rings movies in order and our breakdown of The Lord of the Rings timeline. We've also got the lowdown on The Rings of Power season 2.

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

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