Frodo Returns to the Shire in the First Look at Andy Serkis’ ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’
Break out the fireworks, because Middle-earth is officially back in view. Warner Bros. has unveiled the first set photos from ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’, and they take fans straight back to the green hills of the Shire. For a franchise that has spent years teasing a return, it is the clearest glimpse yet of what the new film looks like.
The studio timed the release to Hobbit Day, posting the photos on its official TikTok page. Production has been underway in New Zealand since July, the longtime home of the franchise, with Andy Serkis directing and reprising the role of Gollum. The images show a bucolic Shire, fresh-faced hobbits and Serkis at work behind the scenes.
Most exciting is a new look at Frodo, seen about to open Bag End’s unmistakable front door. Entertainment Weekly highlighted the moment, and the clip uses Howard Shore’s original score to make the nostalgia hit harder. There is one caveat, though, since Frodo is only seen from behind, so the photos don’t officially confirm that Elijah Wood is the one pictured.
Wood has spoken warmly about returning. He told GamesRadar+ that it is “sort of like getting the band back together a little bit with that film.” He added that his own part is relatively small, but that he is excited to return to New Zealand and see old friends.
The reunion extends behind the camera. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing, with Walsh and Boyens co-writing the script alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Serkis, whose directing credits include ‘Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle’ and ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’, has highlighted how much of the original production team has come back.
The film is set between ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogies. In the story, Gandalf, played by a returning Ian McKellen, sends the ranger Strider, better known as Aragorn, to find Gollum before he can reveal the Ring’s location to Sauron’s forces. Boyens has said the movie falls after Bilbo’s birthday party and before the Mines of Moria, telling a specific chunk of untold story through the perspective of Gollum.
Jamie Dornan takes over as Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen. Lee Pace reprises Thranduil from the ‘Hobbit’ films, and Kate Winslet joins as the original character Marigol. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Seren, a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm, and Leo Woodall plays the Dúnedain ranger Halvard.
Jackson has also said the film took inspiration from a surprising place, namely Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’. That hints at a story that is more intimate and darker than the sweeping quests of the earlier movies, and it centers on a character defined by obsession.
Not everything about the return has been simple. To make the returning actors look as they did in the original trilogy, the production is using de-aging technology. Serkis has confirmed that machine learning is part of that process, which drew criticism over the summer, while noting the technique is limited to some characters and de-ageing.
For fans, the visual continuity is part of the appeal, and the first look at the Shire suggests the team is aiming for a faithful return. It will be interesting to see how the technology holds up in the final cut, especially in close-ups of a hobbit who is meant to look the way audiences remember him.
The film is scheduled for release on December 17, 2027, after a first announcement that pointed to a 2026 window. Warner Bros. has confirmed the full cast at CinemaCon, and filming is expected to continue in New Zealand.
With the Shire back on screen and Frodo’s front door in sight, the marketing for the film has officially begun.
How excited are you for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’?
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