The Lord of the Rings franchise is coming back with Peter Jackson. A new film, The Hunt for Gollum, has been slated for a 2026 release date with Andy Serkis returning.

David Zaslav took to a recent Warner Bros earnings call to announce the bombshell move (via Variety). He revealed that Jackson, who directed the trilogy of Lord of the Rings films, will return as a producer along with his writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The three will produce the film and “will be involved every step of the way” on the new Gollum film.

While the film is slated for a 2026 release date, Zaslav revealed that it's in the early stages of script development. He did say that the film will “explore storylines yet to be told.”

The move comes down to box office potential. Zaslav said, “Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for theatrical business.”

The Hunt for Gollum

As for The Hunt for Gollum, Andy Serkis is confirmed to return. He portrayed the role in Jackson's trilogy of films beginning with 2001's Fellowship of the Ring. Serkis also reprised the role in the Hobbit trilogy as well.

He is also known for his motion-capture work in the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy. Serkis led the first three films as Caesar. He's also had roles in The Adventures of Tintin and Star Wars projects including The Force Awakens, and Andor.

In The Hunt for Gollum, Serkis will return as the title character. He will also direct the film in a surprising move.

As a director, Serkis made his directorial debut in 2017 with the film Breathe. He subsequently directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

The Lord of the Rings series

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series are adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's books. Jackson first adapted the trilogy of books — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King — before taking on The Hobbit. He adapted The Hobbit across three films with Martin Freeman and Serkis leading the way.

The original trilogy of films grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. Return of the King was the highest-grossing film in the series, grossing over $1.1 billion.

They were also recognized at the Oscars. All three Lord of the Rings films received several awards, but Return of the King was the big winner. It completely swept and won all of the 11 awards it was up for. That included Best Picture and Best Director for Jackson.

The Hobbit series was similarly successful. All three films grossed over $900 million worldwide at the box office.

As Warner Bros' David Zaslav noted, the Lord of the Rings series is a money-maker. It makes sense to bring the franchise back to the big screen. After all, they did recently re-release the Lord of the Rings trilogy in theaters. New stories and films mean a new generation gets to be introduced to the series.