New Lord of the Rings film announced by Warner Bros. Discovery for 2026
2026 will be the year of a new film in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ saga reveals Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav in the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
There will be multiple films returning to Middle-earth, and the first film from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures with a working title of ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’.
Andy Serkis will both star and direct the feature, Zaslav confirms that Peter Jackson and his writing partners “will be involved every step of the way.”
Boyens and Walsh will write the script for the film and the deal they’ve agreed with WBD.
No plot details have been revealed about the film yet.
“It is an honor and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that stinker — Gollum!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement.
“As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with [WBD film chiefs] Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
“Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa,” added Serkis.
“With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”
“‘Lord of the Rings’ is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for our theatrical business,” Zaslav said.
WBD first revealed that it was developing new films in Middle-earth in 2023 after agreeing a deal with franchise rights-holders Embracer Group AB.
“For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision,” Abdy and De Luca added.
“We are honored they have agreed to be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’, we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cinematic history.”
Andy Serkis is well known for his love of motion capture, pioneering it when he appearead as Gollum in the 2002 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ adaptation.
He has since appeared in other motion capture roles, directed the 2021 film ‘Venom: Let their be Carnage’ and had two roles in ‘Star Wars’.
‘Lord of the Rings’ will return to viewers screens this year with the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Rings of Power’ and the animated film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’.
