Summary
The Lord of the Ringsfranchise 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 thatAndy Serkis would return to Middle Earthto direct and star in a newLord of the Ringsspinoff movie,The Hunt for Gollum.
Set prior toThe Fellowship of the Ringand eventually crossing over with that movie,The Hunt for Gollumhas 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.
The Hunt For Gollum Has Been Delayed
It was initially believed thatThe Hunt for Gollumwas 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 toldThe 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, withThe Hunt for Gollumnow 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 thelikes 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 theLord of the Ringsspinoff 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 theidea ofThe Hunt for Gollummight 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 toThe 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 followingThe Hobbittrilogy was released in 2024 withThe 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 onThe Hunt for Gollumis 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 theoriginalLord of the Ringstrilogy, 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 Gollumnow has a bigger mountain to climb in order to be a success, and the delays are the prime reason for that.
