Lord Of The Rings: A Gollum Movie Arrives In 2026 & Twitter Isn't Holding Back

Warner Bros. Discover recently delivered stunning news: the studio has greenlit a pair of "Lord of the Rings" movies. The first of these, labeled "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" (a working title), is set for a 2026 release and will be directed by none other than Smeagol actor Andy Serkis — who is on record as definitely ready to do another LOTR movie. Peter Jackson, along with co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, are finally making good on their intriguing hints about returning to Middle-earth, too. Jackson will produce the new film, while Walsh and Boyens will help write the screenplay.

In a press release (via Variety), Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens said, "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!" Serkis added to the conversation, starting with the iconic phrase, "Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends."

But while the production team is excited, what do fans think? X (formerly Twitter) understandably exploded with the news, and many fans didn't hold back their thoughts, even a little bit. Many were excited at the idea of an all-star cast returning to Middle-earth media. User @abarisser said, "If Serkis and Jackson are on board then I am too." Meanwhile, user @agezzzie commented, "Hunting for Gollum sounds perfect. There's a lot of story there, Aragorn in his real strider years + around that period he just started hanging around with the men of Rohan, or he just came off that I'm not so sure anymore. But real grimy, in the dirt years. Bring it!"

But while there have been plenty of warm and encouraging comments, they aren't all positive.

As with anything discussed on social media, plenty of fans used the opportunity for a laugh. Tolkien influencer @myelessar posted a low-quality screenshot from "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum" (one of the worst video games released in 2023) along with the caption, "leaked image from the newly announced lord of the rings film: the hunt for gollum (2026)." User @Cyael poked fun at the decision to split "The Hobbit" into three movies by saying, "we can assume this one will be 6 movies minimum." Influencer @DailyRoP took a shot at the aggressive 2026 release date, as well, saying, "FYI you can bet the house that this isn't being released in 2026."

User @ddunderfelt went all in on the humor, joking that Serkis would direct in character as Gollum before adding a snippet of imagined on-set dialogue that reads, "Ready, we are? Action, we calls it! Move, precious, move! Gollum watchesss, yeeesss, makes sure it's perfect, perfect for the precioussss! Lightses, lightses! More shadow here, yes, yes. Makes it dark and dangerous. Hobbitses are scared, very scared, but they must go on. You makes it darker! Dark as Gollum's cave!"

Many have also taken the opportunity to chime in with their own opinion of Middle-earth adaptation priorities. User @LuzBRSoumaiseu addressed story concerns by asking, "Why not make a film about the First Age?" User @VpGabo offered production advice by stating, "Let's hope they have [Guillermo del Toro] or [Taika Waititi], or even [Rian Johnson] to make them really work, or worth the wait. And a huge respect for the source material."

Friendly ribbing and unsolicited advice aside, other Tolkienites expressed concern over another adaptation. User @chatsunami revisited the Gollum video game factor, saying, "Are they basing it off the game?" with a crying laughing emoji. In a separate post, influencer @myelessar asked a key question regarding the hunt for Gollum story (which heavily involves Aragorn), saying, "guys... if peter jackson is directing a new lord of the rings film called 'the hunt for gollum'... we have to assume this refers to aragorn capturing him and taking him to mirkwood... WHO IS GOING TO PLAY ARAGORN." In a follow-up post, they added, "not to be one of those people but aragorn being recast is my nightmare i have feared this for years."

The biggest concerned reaction popping up across X was a call not to replicate Amazon Studios' "The Rings of Power" series. User @RyderSelmi clarified that the new movie isn't a reboot, adding, "The way to view this is Warner Bros and Peter Jackson are directly competing with the Amazon slop, Rings of Power, and trying to give fans something actually good from Middle Earth." User @lance_hardy, sarcastically said, "But Amazon is already doing such a great job crushing any last vestige of interest we have in this property..." while @ArtificialMafia just stated, "Please do the opposite of the Amazon show."

When "The Rings of Power" Season 1 premiered, it was up against stiff competition from "The House of Dragon." It looks like Amazon Studios' flagship series will have even stiffer in-universe competition moving forward.