It’s real, and it’s precious. This week, after years of anticipation and speculation, cameras began rolling on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, the next big-screen foray from the iconic franchise. And, to announce the news, Warner Bros. released a short but sweet video that’s sure to give you goosebumps.
The Hunt for Gollum won’t have to hunt for him too much on set. The actor portraying the title character, Andy Serkis, is also directing this time, taking the reins from his predecessor, Peter Jackson, who this time produces. Here’s the video.
So, of course, here we see Serkis not just in his role as director, but as the star, the former hobbit turned into a despicable monster by the power of the One Ring. It then transitions to some kind of gorgeous landscape, presumably in New Zealand, which instantly makes us feel like the original films.
Unfortunately, while we now have this official news of production having begun, we don’t yet have an official plot description. We’re pretty sure, though, that the film takes place before and during the timeline of The Fellowship of the Ring as Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum around the time he was captured by Sauron’s armies and revealed Bilbo Baggins was the last to have the ring.
We do, however, have an official cast list that confirms, in addition to Serkis, Ian McKellan, Elijah Wood, and Lee Pace are returning to their roles as Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, and Thranduil, Jamie Dornan is replacing Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn/Strider, Kate Winslet joins the fray as Marigol, and Anya Taylor-Joy is a character named Seren.
How do they all fit together? What makes this a story worth telling? Hopefully, with cameras now rolling, we’ll learn more as we inch closer to next Christmas and the release of the film.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum opens on December 17, 2027. Are you ready to return to Middle-earth?
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The title alone suggests that The Conjuring: Last Rites was meant to be an end point for Ed and Lorraine Warren, the characters played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga across four Conjuring movies since 2013. And if you watched Last Rites (and a lot of people did; it was the horror series’ highest-grossing entry to date), you’d have noticed the movie is very much positioned as a farewell to the characters, especially that big exhale of an ending as the Warrens ease into their hard-earned retirement.
But the people crave more, so a prequel was announced. You might think The Conjuring: First Communion wouldn’t need to do a casting call for the young Ed and Lorraine, since Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor made such an impression playing the characters in Last Rites. But you’d be wrong, because we have a new pair coming in to fight demons: as Variety reports, it’s Garrett Wareing (Ransom Canyon, The Long Walk) and Amanda Fix (Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, the upcoming Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma).
First Communion has a release date set for September 10, 2027. It’s being directed by Rodrigue Huart, a newcomer who caught our attention last year when it was announced he’s also working on a remake of legendary cult film Who Can Kill a Child?, and the script is by Conjuring series veterans Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg (The Nun II, The Conjuring: Last Rites).
So far there are no concrete story details, but we can guess there will be angry ghosts, spiritual affirmations, some corny-but-sweet romantic moments, carefully detailed period fashions, plenty of jump scares, and at least one cursed object with its own spinoff potential. Are you looking forward to winding back the clock for more Conjuring?
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Plus get a tiny glimpse of ‘Supergirl’ ahead of its first trailer this week.
Let us all give our money to Letterboxd.
The director reacted to what audiences liked and didn’t like about his movie for its follow-up, out December 19.
‘Severance’ and ‘Pluribus’ did get Best Drama nominations, as did ‘Sinners’ and ‘Frankenstein’.