Production on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has been underway for several months, and Warner Bros. has released a handful of set photos in celebration of Hobbit Day, the day of Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday. As you might expect, the photos are Hobbit-centric, taking us back to the Shire and showing a variety of rosy-cheeked Hobbits, including one which appears to be Elijah Wood as Frodo entering Bag-End.
The Shire looks just as lovely as it always has, with lush greenery, giant pumpkins, and lots of Hobbits. Although the image of Frodo doesn’t show his face, it’s wonderful to see him back at Bag-End. Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the release of The Fellowship of the Ring…
The cast of The Hunt for Gollum was officially revealed at CinemaCon. It confirms Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol, Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace as Thranduil. Anya Taylor-Joy has also joined the cast as Seren, a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm.
Jamie Dornan will be stepping into the role of Strider, aka Aragorn, chief of the Northern Dúnedain Rangers, and Leo Woodall will play Halvard, another one of the Dúnedain. Kate Winslet will play Marigol, the matriarch of a settlement of Hobbit-like folk.
While some are upset that Viggo Mortensen won’t be returning as Aragorn, Serkis seems very happy with Dornan and even said that Mortensen approves. “I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for further down the line,” Serkis said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “We’re at a crunch stage now, we’re just about to start shooting. We’re not far off shooting. So, I’m going to save all discussion about casting, other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie’s doing it. We’re absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo.“
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently slated for a December 17, 2027 release. Another new movie, which sports the working title Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, is also in the works, with Steven Colbert writing the script.