Credit: Bryan Berlin / New Line Cinema

Elijah Wood lifts lid on ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ in new update: “I’m just really excited”

Tue 13 January 2026 10:33, UK

Elijah Wood has discussed his upcoming role in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Golllum.

While Wood is yet to be officially announced for the project, the secret was given away by Ian McKellen at a fan event last summer.

“It’s going to start filming in May. It’s going to be directed by Gollum, and it’s all about Gollum,” the iconic actor shared, before adding, “But I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting. There’s a character in the movie called Frodo and another character called Gandalf, and apart from that my lips are sealed.”

Now, during a new interview with Screen Rant at the Fan Expo New Orleans, Wood said in response to McKellen’s remarks, “I can neither confirm nor deny. Listen, a wizard is to be trusted.”

Without explicitly stating that he will return as Frodo, Wood continued, “Aside from any of that, I’m not really allowed to confirm. I’m really excited about the film. I think it really is a creative ‘getting the band back together.’ A lot of the creative heads of department are back and in that space again.”

Wood then shared that he believes Phillipa Boyens, who wrote the screenplay for the original Lord of the Rings series, “is co-writing it and producing it”, and spoke about his joy at the reunion, adding, “It’s very much that core original group getting back together to tell this story that will feel like a really fun exploration of this character that we all love so much. And I’m just really excited.”

Andy Serkis, who portrays Gollum in the film series, is set to direct The Hunt for Gollum, which has the full support of Wood, who said, “It feels so unbelievably appropriate that he directs a film about his character that he has really made his own. I’m thrilled. It’ll be great.”

When The Hunt for Gollum was confirmed in 2024, Warner Bros also stated that another Lord of the Rings film would follow afterwards. Looking ahead to the future of the franchise, Wood said, “I know their intention is to make other films in this universe. And that’s exciting, interesting to see where that goes, but very exciting.”

The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in cinemas on December 17th, 2027.