The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hunt for Gollum, will cover the events that took place between The Hobbit trilogy and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story will follow Aragorn and Gandalf as they search for Gollum in order to uncover more information about the mysterious ring.
The film, which is being directed by Andy Serkis, will feature some familiar faces. Ian McKellen has suggested Gandalf will appear in the film, though his return has not been formally confirmed. Elijah Wood has also hinted that he will make an appearance.
“I’m not able to officially say anything until it’s announced,” Wood told The Times. “But I will say I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film… There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together… I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able.”
However, not everyone will be returning to the franchise. In an interview with Screen Rant, Serkis confirmed that Viggo Mortensen will not reprise his role as Aragorn, although he expressed interest in the past.
“I don’t know exactly what the story is,” Mortensen told GQ in 2024. “I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”
On April 3, Serkis confirmed that a new actor is going to be cast to replace Mortensen. “I don’t know what’s out there at the moment,” he said. “But I know there’s a lot of speculation, but let’s just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone.”
The original creative team is also returning for The Hunt for Gollum. “The entire Lord of the Rings team who worked on the originals are reassembled,” Serkis revealed. “So it is grounded in the lore and the world and the vision of Peter Jackson's trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. So it will feel like a proper Middle-earth film, there's no question, but there is a much more internal psychological investigation into one of Tolkien's most complex characters, i.e. Gollum. So it's a very interesting mix, and I think it is a tightrope for sure.”
