The Hunt For Gollum Won’t Be Split Into Two Films But More LOTR Films Are On the Way

Philippa Boyens, screenwriter of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, has said that more Lord of the Rings films are coming, but The Hunt For Gollum will be just one film.

In May of this year, it was announced that two films set within the world of Lord of the Rings were in development. The first titled The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum directed by Andy Serkis with a 2026 release date. Rumors circulated that the film would be split into two parts but that’s not so according to Philippa Boyens.

In an interview with Empire Magazine the writer clarified plans for the franchise going forward.

I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films!

That was a genuine misunderstanding that happened because we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films. The first being The Hunt For Gollum, the second one still to be confirmed.

What the second film will be about is still under wraps for now but we can possibly expect the inclusion of Sir Ian Mckellen’s Gandalf.

We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf

Sir Ian Mckellen has said in an interview recently that he has been approached to reprise his role as Gandalf for The Hunt For Gollum. The last time we saw him play the character was 10 years ago in 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

As for more details on Serkis‘ Gollum film Boyens had this to add:

It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria.

In the movies, the timeline of the events of The Lord of the Rings is condensed into what seems like days between Bilbo’s birthday and when Frodo receives the one ring but in the books seventeen years pass between those events. It seems this is where The Hunt For Gollum might slide into the film timeline.

The next addition to the Lord of the Rings franchise is the upcoming animated feature The War Of The Rohirrim which will be released in theaters December 13, 2024.