After months of excruciating guesswork, Warner Bros. and New Line announced the cast for Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum at their CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas. The biggest question on the table before was, “Who plays Aragorn?” There is an answer.
Jamie Dornan will become the new Strider. Chief of the Northern Dúnedain Rangers and Aragorn, taking over Viggo Mortensen from the original trilogy. Serkis had already confirmed before the CinemaCon presentation that Aragorn would be played by a new actor in his prequel, and Philippa Boyens had confirmed publicly that he had been asked more than once to sign on.
He starred in the TV drama The Fall and risen to household name status with Fifty Shades of Grey. Dornan has since won critical acclaim for his work in Belfast and A Haunting in Venice. It’s a big jump to franchise territory, but fits with his ability.
About Hunt for Gollum
Hunt for Gollum takes place between The Hobbit film series and The Fellowship of the Ring. It is following Aragorn in his Strider days as Gandalf enlists him to find Gollum. All before Sauron can capture the creature and discover the location of the One Ring. The plot is largely drawn from Tolkien’s appendices and notes, rather than a single text.
On the returning side, the lineup is strong. In addition to directing, Andy Serkis stars as Gollum/Sméagol. Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf. Elijah Wood returns as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace reprises his role as Thranduil. Newcomers to the series include Kate Winslet as Marigol and Leo Woodall as Halvard. Woodall’s Halvard is another member of the Dúnedain, joining Strider on the dangerous hunt.
Director Serkis addressed the ensemble in a statement tied to the CinemaCon reveal. “Across two trilogies, a mark of a Middle-earth film has always been the formidable array of talent brought to bear in every role,” he said, adding that he is “delighted to announce the return of two of Middle-earth’s most beloved performers, alongside some exceptionally talented new additions to Tolkien’s world.”
The new movie marks the first live-action theatrical return to Tolkien’s world for Warner Bros. since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The screenplay is written by Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou, with Peter Jackson, Boyens, Walsh, and Zane Weiner producing.
The film is slated for release on December 17, 2027.
