Warner Bros. is gearing up for a return to Middle-earth with a new Lord of the Rings movie, and some familiar faces will be along for the not-so-unexpected journey. It has been known for some time that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is in the works. Andy Serkis is set to direct, and the movie is currently slated for release in 2027. The story will take place during The Fellowship of the Ring‘s timeline, in a period where Aragorn and Gandalf go looking for Gollum. It’s expected (though not confirmed) that Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen will be reprising their roles, but some others are along for the ride as well.
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McKellen revealed that Gandalf and Frodo will both be in The Hunt for Gollum, with the latter a little more of a surprise, given he’s not a central part of the story it’s telling. Like with McKellen, it’s not yet known if Elijah Wood will be reprising his role as the hobbit. However, it would be reasonable to assume that he will. It would be a very difficult role to recast, and if it necessitated a different actor, it might not even be worth it. Frodo’s role probably won’t be huge, but it could be important – and have ramifications on previous Lord of the Rings movies.
How Frodo Can Appear In The Lord Of The Rings’ New Movie
Frodo is very unlikely to partake in the titular hunt for Gollum for a simple reason: he’ll probably still be in the Shire. According to producer and co-writer Philippa Boyens [via Empire], the movie’s events will take place sometime between Bilbo Baggins’ birthday party and the Fellowship’s arrival at the Mines of Moria, where they discover Gollum has been following them. Given Frodo is the character whose movements we track most closely during that time, there’s not much room for deviation.
The most likely answer is that Frodo exists as a framing device in the movie, not dissimilar to Wood’s return as the character in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It would be easy to show him having a conversation with Gandalf either before or after the wizard has searched for Gollum (given he references searching for him in Fellowship), learning more about what happened, and giving viewers some greater context as to how it all fits into the bigger picture.
Otherwise, it could invent some new scenes, particularly if, as seems likely, it takes place in the period between Bilbo’s party and before Gandalf’s return to the Shire. That wouldn’t have much dramatic value, though, given that Hobbits don’t really do a great deal by their very nature. It could, however, change our understanding of the movie’s timeline.
Frodo’s Appearance Could Change The Lord Of The Rings’ Timeline
Frodo’s role in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is less interesting for what it’ll be, and more for what it means. Again, assuming it takes place in the time between the party and Gandalf’s return, there’s a big discrepancy between the book and movie. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, there are 17 years between those events taking place. The movie doesn’t put a firm date on it, but the way it plays out suggests it’s been a few months at most, with no characters visibly aging or changing.
17 years passing could still work there if it were only Frodo we saw, because he has the One Ring, but it’s not. In the book, Pippin is a child at the party, and then a full-grown adult in later events; in the movie, there’s no sign that he, Merry, or any of the other characters have aged, and they started out as adults anyway. The Hunt for Gollum may stick with this more simplified version of events, but it’s plausible that it will look to book accuracy and actually reference that 17 years have passed. Or if not that long, then at least a few years.
Neither option is entirely easy. If it does go with the 17-year timeline, then it means we have to accept almost two decades passed in Fellowship of the Ring that we didn’t see, and that there’s no accounting for it happening in any way. If it goes with the movie’s existing timeline, and let’s say it’s just a few months, it means an entire movie’s worth of story all took place in that short time. That includes Gandalf leaving the Shire, recruiting Aragorn, hunting for Gollum through Middle-earth, and then returning to the Shire. It certainly wouldn’t be ruinous by any means, but it’s not a neat fit.
The Hunt For Gollum Needs To Be Careful With Bringing Back Characters
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum bringing some characters back is inevitable, but it needs to handle them carefully. Those first three movies are rightly revered (you might even say they’re precious) and shouldn’t be messed with – but an entire film set during the events of Fellowship certainly carries that risk. It’s impossible to avoid having Gandalf and Aragorn in the movie, but it has to not only stay true to their characterization, but to the wider events.
Any prequel has the risk of annoying retcons and inconsistencies, and what’s effectively a story insert even more so. There’s plenty of familiar Lord of the Rings talent involved, all of whom care deeply about those movies and helped make them great, to have some faith in the project, but hopefully, it will get that balance right.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released on December 17th, 2027.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
