Big news came out of the Warner Bros quarterly call this morning. According to a report from THR, WBD’s CEO David Zaslav announced that there is not only a new Lord of the Rings film on the way, but it is coming from Peter Jackson.
The working title for the film is Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and it is set to star, and be directed by, Andy Serkis. Serkis cut his directing teeth as a second unit director on the LOTR and Hobbit films. Serkis’ most recent film that he directed was Venom: Let There Be Carnage and he is currently developing a film adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm alongside Nicholas Stoller (The Muppets) and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet Of The Apes).
Along with Jackson and Serkis, the new film will also bring back Jackson’s longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens who are currently writing the screenplay. Zaslav went on to say that this new deal will cover two films of the LOTR franchise.
While 2026 seems like a long time from now, it’s almost nothing in terms of filmmaking, especially with Jackon’s love of practical effects. As a result, we won’t be too surprised if that date gets back. With that said, This is still a great time to be a LOTR fan. This summer, the original trilogy will be getting an extended and remastered release in theaters and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is set to hit theaters this December.