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In May, Variety reported that Warner Brothers Studios had announced a new The Lord of the Rings live-action feature to be released in 2026 The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum.

To be produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Andy Serkis very little is known about the plot or details of the feature but there are reasonable guesses that can be made.

In the first book of the series The Fellowship of the Ring Gandalf tells Frodo that he and Aragorn had searched for the creature Gollum but that the enemy found him first. In both the film adaptation and the novel this is entirely an off-screen second bit of exposition, but it is a hunt for Gollum and likely the source of the new film. (Though I suppose it is possible that you might build an entire movie around the River folk hunting for Gollum the murderer.)

Making a story work around Gandalf and Aragorn’s search is a tall and tough task. We know they fail; we know they are unharmed and any new or side characters introduced will be treated with life expectancy of a Trek Red Shirt.

I can tell you one thing from Gandalf’s recounting of the hunt that will not make it into this feature, the evidence that Gollum ate babies will be excised.

This is an image, empty cribs left in Gollum’s wake, that haunts me from the novel and one of the reasons why Gollum never achieved any sympathy from me. The wanton murder of children strips any character of any slim hope of redemption. (Yes, I am looking at you Frankenstein’s monster. Life is tough and you were treated horribly but nothing excuses the murder of children.)