New Lord of the Rings Movie Teaser Gives First Look at Return to Middle-earth and Finally Confirms Title

The journey back to Middle-earth has officially begun. Andy Serkis has shared the very first look at The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, marking the start of production with a behind-the-scenes video that also seems to confirm the movie’s title is staying exactly as it has been since it was first announced.

The short teaser delivers a playful clip of Serkis striding onto set in full motion-capture gear before crouching down and seamlessly slipping into the wheezing, rasping voice of Gollum, the pitiful creature he first brought to life in Jackson’s original trilogy more than two decades ago. The footage then cuts to the beautiful and familiar landscape of New Zealand, where the franchise has made a home. It may not be first footage, but it is a first look at how The Hunt for Gollum is looking to fit perfectly into the saga that redefined cinema back in 2001.

Serkis is directing as well as reprising his most famous role, with the film due in cinemas on December 17, 2027, through New Line and Warner Bros. Although the project was originally announced as The Hunt for Gollum, it was never entirely certain that this would be the title under which it would be released. Even Serkis had suggested the name could change, but this teaser appears to put to bed any idea of the film being called anything else.

Set shortly before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, the story follows Gandalf dispatching the ranger Strider – revealed in the original trilogy to be Aragorn – to track down Gollum before the wretched creature can share the location of the One Ring with Sauron’s evil minions. Serkis isn’t the only familiar name behind the camera, either: he is joined by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, who return to this new chapter of Middle-earth’s on-screen story as co-writers and producers.

The Hunt For Gollum Will De-Age Some Characters

Obviously, one of the biggest talking points among fans is the casting. Ian McKellen is reprising his role as Gandalf, and Elijah Wood is returning as Frodo, a quarter of a century on from The Fellowship of the Ring. Speaking to Variety, Serkis acknowledged there is “a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters,” with machine learning forming part of the process. He was quick to stress that the film isn’t creating AI-generated shots and that every frame is built traditionally, likening the technology to the pioneering MASSIVE software Jackson used to give thousands of individual orcs their own behaviour in the original films.

De-aging is still something that stirs up debate among film fans. In the last decade, Harrison Ford was de-aged for the opening segment of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Samuel L. Jackson spent the entire Captain Marvel movie as a younger version of himself, and Martin Scorsese used the technique on several stars of his Netflix movie The Irishman. The success of that de-ageing has been as questionable as it has been convincing. When it comes to The Hunt for Gollum, though, the big debate isn’t really the use of de-aging itself – it’s why Serkis is using the technology on some actors but not to bring back original Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen.

Viggo Mortensen Will Not Be Returning to Middle-earth

Rather than digitally roll back the clock on Mortensen, Serkis recast the role entirely, with Jamie Dornan stepping in as a younger Strider. For some, that decision sits awkwardly alongside the willingness to de-age McKellen and Wood. However, Strider/Aragorn is a far more prominent character in this story, which would have massively increased costs and potentially made it much harder to keep a de-aged version of the character looking believable throughout the film.

There is also the possibility that Mortensen simply did not want to return, or could not. Mortensen himself said in several interviews last year that while he would love to play Aragorn again, he would only do so if he were confident he could do the role justice without relying on stunt doubles and CGI to do all the work. At 67, he most likely just accepted that he could no longer be the same character he played 25 years ago.

The Hunt for Gollum adds several newcomers to the franchise alongside Dornan, including Kate Winslet, Anya Taylor-Joy and Leo Woodall, while Lee Pace returns as the elf king Thranduil. Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released in cinemas on December 17, 2027 – when it is currently set to go up against Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled to open on the same day.

(featured image: New Line Cinema)

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