Summary
- The Hunt for Gollum movie has been delayed to December 2027, causing frustration among excited fans.
- The delay could lead to audiences losing faith in Lord of the Rings spinoff movies.
- Warner Bros expects The Hunt for Gollum to be a box office success, despite the delay affecting initial buzz.
The Lord of the Rings franchise is something people have wanted to see expanded ever since the original trilogy drew to a close, and that's something that Warner Bros is looking to make happen. It was revealed in May 2024 that Andy Serkis would return to Middle Earth to direct and star in a new Lord of the Rings spinoff movie, The Hunt for Gollum.
Set prior to The Fellowship of the Ring and eventually crossing over with that movie, The Hunt for Gollum has a lot of potential to be an exciting film. Fans of the franchise have been discussing the possibilities of what this movie can bring to the big screen, but the latest news has provided a roadblock for this movie.
Warner Bros Should Focus On This Lord Of The Rings Character
Warner Bros needs to focus on this Lord of the Rings character for any future movie projects.
The Hunt For Gollum Has Been Delayed
It was initially believed that The Hunt for Gollum was going to be released in 2026, but Serkis has now confirmed that isn't the case. The director appeared as part of the Fan Expo Vancouver 2025, where he provided disappointing news about the film's release date. He told The Direct:
"Yeah, it is not 2026. It was originally going to be December 2026; it is going to be December 2027. We are right at the beginning of the writing process. We will be prepping later this year. Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs into that December 2027 release date."
It is a significant delay for the movie, with The Hunt for Gollum now being pushed back an entire year, which will undoubtedly cause some frustration to people who were excited about diving into this movie. The film has been rumored to feature several cameo appearances from the likes of Gandalf and Aragorn, and people will now be hoping that delays haven't put a spanner in the works for possible plans such as that.
The Lord Of The Rings Fans Could Lose Faith In The Spinoff Movies
The big issue with the movie being delayed by an entire year is that it could lead to audiences losing faith in the Lord of the Rings spinoff movies. There are already question marks over whether these types of films are needed as people obviously understand what will end up happening to the lead character in this particular story. That can take a lot of people out of it as the film instantly feels like filler rather than something that is a must-see as Gollum's long-term fate is sealed in cinematic history. However, the delay is certainly going to hurt because even those who were interested in the idea of The Hunt for Gollum might be starting to lose faith in the project.
There could have been a lack of forward planning with this, given that the initial release date is now going to be so far off the mark. It will lead to worries that the story and ideas simply aren't there when it comes to The Hunt for Gollum, which supports the argument some people have that they're merely attaching Gollum to a movie as he's one of the only characters from the original trilogy that wouldn't look out of place now due to motion capture.
The Hunt For Gollum Must Deliver At The Box Office
The first spinoff movie that has been created following The Hobbit trilogy was released in 2024 with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. This was more of a gamble, given that it is an animated film and one that doesn't have a member of the original cast attached to it. However, it only received a 49% Rotten Tomatoes rating and grossed just $20 million worldwide on a $30 million budget. It didn't get things off to the best possible start for movies being centered around Middle Earth. With Warner Bros looking to prove that new content can come from this franchise without just rebooting the original trilogy, the pressure on The Hunt for Gollum is clear.
Warner Bros will want this movie to deliver something positive at the box office, but unfortunately, the delay is likely to hurt its chances. The initial buzz and hype surrounding the film when it was announced will be long gone by the time 2027 rolls around, and it will now be imperative that an entertaining trailer is put together to captivate and convince audiences to check it out. That delay also pushes it one year further away from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, and while that might help the film feel fresher when it releases, it means the interest could be even lower as the excitement around the franchise continues to drop with time. The Hunt for Gollum now has a bigger mountain to climb in order to be a success, and the delays are the prime reason for that.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- December 17, 2027
- Director
- Andy Serkis
- Writers
- Arty Papageorgiou, Phoebe Gittins, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien
- Franchise(s)
- The Lord of the Rings
Cast
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Andy SerkisGollum
