Barry Brecheisen/WireImage via Getty Images

Gollum is coming back to movie screens in time for Christmas 2027.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will arrive in movie theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.

Andy Serkis, who has played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise for decades, will direct the upcoming film.

This release date confirms that the film has been delayed for a year. When the project was announced in May 2024, the studio said the film would be ready in 2026.

The Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will produce The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, with the studio saying the creatives will be on board every step of the way.

“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,” Serkis said at the time the project was announced.

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens also gave a joint statement at the time the project was first announced.

“It is an honour 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!” they said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.