New ‘Lord of the Rings’ films set for 2026 release

Are you a Lord of the Rings fan?

Two new movies from the hit film franchise are in the works, with release dates scheduled for 2026.

According to a report by Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery’s chief executive officer David Zaslav announced in a conference call last Friday, May 10 that the company is “now in the early stages of script development” for the upcoming offerings, adding that they will “explore storylines yet to be told.” 

Zaslav confirmed that the tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum would be the first of three planned live-action projects in the franchise, which will be directed by Andy Serkis. Serkis is also set to reprise his role as Gollum in the new movies.

Peter Jackson, who directed the original trilogy and three Hobbit movies two decades ago, will serve their producer. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, meanwhile, were tapped to write the screenplay alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. 

"It is an honor 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!" Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens announced in a joint statement. "As life-long fans of Professor Tolkien's vast mythology, we are proud to be working on another epic adventure!" 

The Lord of The Rings consists of epic fantasy adventure movies based on the best-selling series of novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. They are set in the fictional land filled with men, dwarves, elves, and hobbits. 

The original film trilogy earned almost nearly $3 billion (P172 billion) at the box office and won a total of 17 Academy Awards.