New Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Brings Frodo Back to The Shire in First Images

Yesterday was Hobbit Day, and fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's work had plenty to celebrate on the momentous holiday. The Lord of the Rings is full of life more than ever at the moment, across television, the silver screen, and beyond. In less than two months, Prime Video's prequel series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, will return with the first four episodes of its third season on November 11, bringing war to Mordor once more and introducing Jamie Campbell Bower to Middle-earth as Celeborn. Former The Late Show host and Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert is also preparing his own cinematic journey into Mordor in collaboration with Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee, covering the eighth chapter in The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs. There's even a new Middle-earth-set game from Kingdom Come developers Warhorse Studios in early development.

However, most eyes are set on the horizon of December 17, 2027, when The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will ride into theaters. Production began in the franchise's picturesque longtime home of New Zealand back in July with director and star Andy Serkis seamlessly slipping back into the rasping tones of the titular wretched creature. Set between Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and original Lord of the Rings trilogy, it explores the perspective of Gollum, as Gandalf, played by a returning Ian McKellen, sends the ranger Strider, aka Aragorn, now embodied by Jamie Dornan, out in search of the creature to stop him before he can reveal the ring's location to Sauron's forces. A lot of buzz has surrounded the return of many of Jackson's original stars, and now, Warner Bros. is pulling back the curtain on the effort to bring Middle-earth back to life.

In accordance with Hobbit Day, the studio unveiled a collection of set photos from The Hunt for Gollum on its official TikTok page. Included among the set is a first look at Elijah Wood's return to The Shire as Frodo Baggins, though he's only shown from behind. That's probably intentional, given much of the cast will use de-aging technology to appear as they did in the original, but he does look accurate for what is shown of him. Otherwise, the rest of the images are a nostalgic look at the idyllic Shire, showing off the gorgeous, green-laden landscape and actors dressed once more for Middle-earth, while Serkis mans the camera.