Kate Winslet is venturing from Pandora to Middle-earth.
The beloved actress, who was recently in James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” is set to star in “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.”
She’ll join Andy Serkis, who is directing in addition to reprising his role as the creature from the original trilogy.
Serkis and Peter Jackson, who originally adapted the J. R. R. Tolkien novel for the big screen, spent most of last year coaxing Winslet to appear in the film, which means uprooting to New Zealand to shoot her scenes in the film from late May through to October.
It’s a country she’s familiar with, having shot Jackson’s 1994 movie “Heavenly Creatures” there.
If she gets the role, Oscar winner Winslet would join a cast that includes the return of Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Serkis as Gollum — roles the three have been associated with since Jackson directed them in 2001’s "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and the subsequent series of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" features based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s celebrated collection.
Jackson is producing “The Hunt for Gollum” with his creative partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. They “will be involved every step of the way,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during a 2024 earnings call.
“The Hunt for Gollum” is slated to release in theaters on December 17, 2027.
While plot details haven’t been confirmed, the story is set between the events of “The Hobbit” and “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Warner Bros. is in the process of being sold to Paramount Skydance, which could throw the studio’s development slate into disarray. However, the potential merger is unlikely to interrupt plans for “The Hunt for Gollum” because “Lord of the Rings” is one of the premier film franchises at Warner Bros. Its “Lord of the Rings” and prequel series “The Hobbit” were major box office winners with each trilogy grossing around $2.8 billion at the global box office.
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