The Next Lord of the Rings Movie Has a 'Great' Script, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav Says, With Shooting Set for Next Year

Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has a “great” script, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav has said.

Speaking during a financial call, Zaslav listed Lord of the Rings as one of Warner Bros.’ "big tentpoles" alongside the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Harry Potter.

It was at this point that Zaslav commented on Lord of the Rings directly:

“We've got a great script on Lord of the Rings with Peter Jackson that we're moving forward on and we'll be giving you more detail on that.”

That’s not much to go on, but we do know shooting is set to begin early to mid-2026, with a December 17, 2027 release date confirmed. We also know the movie will see star and director Andy Serkis reprise his role as Gollum, as the title suggests.

Warner Bros. has said The Hunt for Gollum is in fact the first of two new Lord of the Rings feature films from Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, as the company aims to make more of the franchise. With The Hunt for Gollum, we’ll get to see what Gollum was up to in the years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

But could other Lord of the Rings actors follow suit? In an interview with MovieWeb to promote his new film, Deep Cover, the 48-year-old Orlando Bloom discussed the possibility of Legolas returning for The Hunt for Gollum. Apart from very much being into the idea, he said that Legolas would have to be the same age as he was in the original trilogy, and to achieve that, the filmmakers would have to use AI-powered de-ageing technology.

Bloom played Legolas first in 2001's beloved The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, aged 24. 24 years later, is a Legolas return realistic? We do know Hunt for Gollum is set to see a number of famous faces return, including Gandalf. The 86-year-old Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, has said he'd be open to returning as the wizard so long as age didn't catch up to him. Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen is also open to returning.

In June, Serkis touched on the tone fans can expect from The Hunt for Gollum, and issued an update on when filming will begin.

“We're very early on in the process,” he said. “We've been talking about the film over the course of the last year. We’re about to start a period of prep in the next few months or so. We will be shooting in the early to mid-part of next year, I guess, and then it'll be as long as it takes to shoot, which — it's a sizable movie — all ready for a December 2027 release.

“I'm incredibly excited to go back and work with my friends and family in New Zealand and actually do something which is, I think, going to be surprising, and yet very much part of the lore and the feel of the trilogy. The sensibility of it will feel, I think, close to that, and yet we're investigating in greater depth the character formerly known as Smeagol, but mostly known as Gollum.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

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