Lord of the Rings' Most Divisive Movie Officially Takes Over Netflix

The Lord of the Rings franchise, one of the biggest and best in cinema history, is expanding. Scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2027, The Hunt for Gollum will be the first standalone, live-action theatrical release set in the main timeline of Middle-earth since the original trilogy, which came to an end more than two decades ago. The likes of Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis will return to their iconic roles as Gandalf, Frodo, and Gollum, respectively, with the latter directing from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou.

But it is the new faces joining the franchise in The Hunt for Gollum that have caught the most attention. Jamie Dornan has been cast in the role of Aragorn, made famous by Viggo Mortensen. Kate Winslet has been cast as Marigol, Leo Woodall as the Dúnedain ranger Halvard, and Anya Taylor-Joy as the elf Seren, with it also recently announced that Lee Pace is reprising his fan-favorite role as Thranduil, the Elven king who first appeared in 2012's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, An Unexpected Journey had been a long time coming when it was finally released in 2012. For nine years, whispers of the film had circulated, and studio and legal issues had halted development. The great Guillermo del Toro was initially tapped to helm a two-part adaptation, though eventually Peter Jackson stepped back into the directing spotlight. 14 years later, the film is a surprise streaming hit. At the time of writing, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is one of the ten most-watched movies on Netflix in the world.

How Much Did 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Make at the Box Office?

As a film that many had long waited for, it's no surprise that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was an enormous hit at the box office. Against a production budget of $200 million, the film broke the billion-dollar boundary in global revenue, split between a domestic haul of $300 million and a further $700 million from overseas markets. The 2012 entry is the second-highest-grossing film in The Lord of the Rings franchise. Despite that success, the adaptation was divisive amongst fans for its heavy reliance on CGI and deviation from the source material.