A new movie from the world of The Lord of the Rings tells the story of Gollum, or at least a part of it. It has now been revealed in what time frame the movie takes place. This opens the floor for speculation.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings are currently in a good place. Not only did the second season of The Rings of Power recently premiere, but in December we can also expect a new animated film titled The Battle of the Rohirrim.
Now another film project for the world of Middle-earth has been announced.
What kind of film is this? A new film is set to focus on the character “Gollum.” The film currently bears the title “The Hunt for Gollum” and is not expected to hit theaters before 2026.
In general, there isn’t much information available at the moment, but a very important detail has now been shared by the film’s screenwriter.
Here you can see the trailer for the upcoming animated film “The Battle of the Rohirrim”:
The time frame gives hints about possible characters
What does the screenwriter reveal? Philippa Boyens has previously co-written Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and is now leading the project about Gollum. She told Empire when exactly the new film takes place.
The story begins on Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday and ends just before the Fellowship reaches the Mines of Moria. This is important information as it confines the time period of the plot.
This temporal limitation allows for speculation on which already known characters we might encounter again. The focus is on the 9 companions who want to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom. In a ranking on MeinMMO, we had the 9 companions face off against each other.
It raises the question of which of these characters’ paths will cross Gollum’s. At least two of them are almost certain to appear.
Which characters could appear? First up is Gandalf himself, the powerful wizard who searched for Gollum in 3001, the year of Bilbo’s party. He asks Aragorn for help. They hunt Gollum for several years before he is captured by Sauron.
He is tortured by Sauron, drawing Mordor’s attention to the Shire and the location of the Ring. After his release, Gollum is once again hunted by Aragorn and also captured – before he escapes again.
It is thus quite likely that both Gandalf and Aragorn will appear again. Whether they will be played by their original actors is unknown. Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, has at least expressed interest (via variety.com).
Other characters could also make a return. For instance, Frodo, who is present at Bilbo’s birthday and later sets out with the companions from Rivendell to destroy the Ring.
The individual members of the Fellowship could have encountered Gollum in various ways here and there – after all, 17 years pass between Bilbo’s birthday and the formation of the Fellowship. Whether and how exactly this will be shown in the movie is still open.
The project is directed by Gollum actor Andy Serkis, who is also set to reprise the role. Curiously, the film borrows its title and concept from a fan project: 15 years ago, fans made a Gollum film for under 4,000 euros, now Hollywood follows suit, borrowing the idea and title.
