New Lord of the Rings Movie Gets 2026 Release Date

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealed the release date during an earnings call.

By Timothy Adams

2026 is when The Lord of the Rings fans will get to see a new movie set in the universe. The popular franchise already has a bevy of feature films, but that isn't stopping Warner Bros. Discovery from pumping out even more content. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav already confirmed that the studio is hard at work on a new set of films based on The Lord of the Rings, and during an earnings call this morning, he revealed the first of those Lord of the Rings films will be released in 2026. The project is already in the early stages of script development.

Titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, the movie is directed by and starring Andy Serkis (Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle). As the title suggests, it will feature Serkis' Gollum as its main character. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are writing the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is executive produced by Ken Kamins, with Serkis and The Imaginarium's Jonathan Cavendish. Peter Jackson is producing with Walsh and Boyens.

"For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien's works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision," said Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy in a joint statement. "We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history."

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Jackson, Walsh and Boyens added, "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! As life long fans of Professor Tolkien's vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!"

"We're going to have a real focus on franchises," Zaslav said during an earnings call late last year. "We haven't had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven't done a Harry Potter movie in 15 years. The DC movies and Harry Potter movies provided a lot of the profits of Warner Brothers Motion Pictures over the last 25 years. So focus on the franchise. One of the big advantages that we have, House of the Dragon is an example of that. Game of Thrones, taking advantage of Sex in the City, Lord of the Rings, we still have the right to do Lord of the Rings movies. What are the movies that have brands that are understood and loved everywhere in the world."

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