"The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" Reveals Full Cast with Jamie Dornan to Play Aragorn

Middle-Earth came to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as part of Warner Bros.’ CinemaCon presentation Tuesday.

The studio revealed several cast members for the upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” directed by Andy Serkis. It’s set to release in theaters on December 17, 2027.

In addition to helming the film, Serkis stars as Gollum/Smeagol, Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf, Elijah Wood returns as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace reprises his role as Thranduil.

Newcomers to the “Lord of the Rings” series include Kate Winslet as Marigol and Leo Woodall as Halvard.

Jamie Dornan will also play Strider, who’s later revealed to be Aragorn in the original novel.

The film will chronicle the search for the titular corrupted Hobbit in the years leading up to the trilogy’s first installment, “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

Original trilogy screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are joined by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou in adapting the J.R.R. Tolkien source material.

Tolkien originally wrote the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in the 1950s following the success of “The Hobbit” in 1937.

Jackson adapted “The Lord of the Rings” into three films in 2001, 2002, and 2003 and later stretched “The Hobbit” into its own film trilogy in 2012, 20and, and 2014.

The original “Lord of the Rings” films were landmark box office and technical achievements, cumulatively grossing nearly $3 billion worldwide and winning 17 Academy Awards.

The third film, “The Return of the King” took home Best Picture in 2004, along with a record-tying 11 Oscars total.

Serkis’ performance as Gollum in the second and third films were breakthrough achievements in motion capture technology, debuting innovative digital effects from Weta Workshop. Serkis reprised his role as Gollum in the first “Hobbit” film in 2012.

New Line Cinema previously returned to Middle Earth in 2024, releasing the animated feature, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” in theaters.

Amazon-MGM is also adapting Tolkien’s work under its own rights agreement with the author’s estate, currently making the third season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” for Amazon Prime.