Warner Bros. has announced a new Lord of the Rings film, The Hunt for Gollum, raising questions about the source material it will draw from. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy movies are some of the most beloved book adaptations ever, setting a gold standard for adapting Tolkien’s writing that other attempts have struggled to achieve. Two decades later, they’re still the best adaptations of Tolkien’s work, despite another trilogy and Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings TV series. In May 2024, the film studio finally announced a new wave of Lord of the Rings movies.

Given the divisive attempts at adapting Lord of the Rings since Peter Jackson’s beloved movie trilogy, The Hunt for Gollum will be the subject of harsh speculation from audiences until more information is released. However, according to Variety, there are some promising creative choices behind the scenes. Peter Jackson will return to produce the new movie, with the report claiming he “will be involved every step of the way.” Andy Serkis will return to star in his iconic role as Gollum and will also direct the film.

The Hunt For Gollum Is A Story From Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings Appendices

The Return Of The King’s Appendices Provide Brief Summaries Of Various Events In Middle-Earth’s Histories

The Hunt for Gollum will be drawn from Tolkien’s original Lord of the Rings books, compiled from information revealed throughout the trilogy, and from the Appendices of The Return of the King. In The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s revealed that Gandalf had previously tasked Aragorn with capturing Gollum for information, though this information is mostly skipped over in the movies. Tolkien’s Appendices provide the full details about the event, which can be read below:

3009 – Gandalf and Aragorn renew their hunt for Gollum at intervals during the next eight years, searching in the vales of Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion to the confines of Mordor. At some time during these years Gollum himself ventured into Mordor, and was captured by Sauron.

3017 – Gollum is released from Mordor. He is taken by Aragorn in the Dead Marshes, and brought to Thranduil in Mirkwood. Gandalf visits Minas Tirith and reads the scroll of Isildur.

Certain aspects of the Appendices are covered in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, such as Gollum being captured and tortured by Sauron for information about the One Ring. In keeping with the other Lord of the Rings movies’ chronology, The Hunt for Gollum should occur around the start of The Fellowship of the Ring, between Bilbo’s birthday party and when Frodo sets out for Rivendell. However, the timeline could be shifted to account for Peter Jackson’s movies, as the duration between Frodo receiving the ring and beginning his journey is condensed significantly from the book.

WB’s The Hunt For Gollum Movie Will Need To Add More Material Than Tolkien Wrote

The Appendices Don’t Provide Much Story, Meaning The Hunt For Gollum Writers Will Need To Develop Their Own Material

Continuously adapting Tolkien is tricky because no stories in his world have been explored in writing as deeply as The Lord of the Rings. Warner Bros. will essentially be taking the premise from the Appendices and expanding it into a complete story, which poses an incredible challenge as it needs to be entertaining and faithful to Tolkien’s work simultaneously. The upcoming Lord of the Rings animated film, War of the Rohirrim, will also be adapting a story from the Lord of the Rings Appendices, which could indicate what the script for The Hunt for Gollum will look like.

Sources: Variety