Anya Taylor-Joy's Lord of the Rings Debut Is Officially Closer Than Ever

After months of behind-the-scenes rumblings, Middle-earth has come alive once more with the return of the third season of Prime Video's fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Picking up after a five-year time jump, the return of characters such as Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has once more sparked much interest among ardent supporters of the lore and new converts as well. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings lore is exceedingly vast, and with several plots needing attention, that could present a problem.

However, beyond The Rings of Power, interest in more Westernesse content from across the Sundering Seas remains strong — even if the blood of Fair Numenor only flows in but a few veins still. Peter Jackson's original trilogy introduced us, on screen, to characters such as Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the rest of the Fellowship. But while Rings of Power juggles multiple plots, Warner Bros.' upcoming long-awaited return to Middle-earth will focus on a key portion that was overlooked somewhat in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The new fantasy film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, is set to arrive on December 17, 2027, and its director, Andy Serkis, has recently updated fans on a key milestone.

At the start of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) famously celebrated his "eleventy-first" birthday. But the film didn't cover Gandalf and Aragorn's search for Gollum (played by Serkis) after the occasion. This is the premise for The Hunt for Gollum, and Serkis has revealed it has attained a crucial production milestone. Speaking during a recent interview on The Morning Mosh Pit, Serkis announced that filming on The Hunt for Gollum has now wrapped and teased Gollum's arc, calling the creature "one of Tolkien's most complicated characters." Serkis' statement read:

"We’ve just wrapped principal photography and I’m directing this one, so it’s been an incredible journey back into an endlessly complex and wonderfully drawn and written character for the third time. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, and now going back in on this film. So, I’m very excited about it. He just is one of Tolkien’s most complicated characters and does definitely bear closer examination."

Who Features in 'The Hunt for Gollum'?

+5

The original Lord of the Rings trilogy remains one of the greatest trilogies of all time and, as such, several of the actors who starred in it are revered. So, when it was announced that there'd be a new movie set in the same time period, questions arose regarding who might return. While Sir Ian returns as Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen, who expertly embodied Aragorn in the original run, will not and is replaced by Jamie Dornan. Elijah Wood is also expected to return as Frodo, with the rest of the cast, including Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Thranduil, Kate Winslet (Titanic), Leo Woodall (The White Lotus), and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) as Seren have also been cast.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 17, 2027.