J.R.R. Tolkien’s story of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum includes familiar faces like Aragorn, Gandalf, Thranduil and many others.

The Lord of the Rings is officially making its way back to the big screen with a new live-action adventure. While the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be kicking off a new era of Tolkien film adaptations this December, the first new live-action movie has been officially set to follow in 2026.

This movie will be The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a story that will explore more of the backstory of the slinking river-dweller who is solely driven by the search for his precious magic ring.

Directed by and starring Andy Serkis, who has previously played Gollum in all three Lord of the Rings films as well as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, this new Hunt for Gollum film will be a prequel set immediately prior to the events of the core Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While Serkis, Peter Jackson and the film’s screenwriters have been tight-lipped about the specific story they are telling, there’s really only one story from Tolkien’s Legendarium that could fit the title of The Hunt for Gollum. That story has already been seen to some degree, both in a 2009 fan film and the 2023 video game The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

One of the biggest benefits of telling this story in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is that it provides plenty of opportunities for other familiar faces to show up. There is a long list of recognizable characters that are almost assuredly going to play key roles in this film, and there are many others who could feasibly be worked into the story in supporting roles as well.

While many of these characters have already been seen in the movies before, there are also a few fan-favorites that could be making their feature debut as well. With that in mind, here are nine major Lord of the Rings characters that could show up in The Hunt for Gollum.

9Gollum

Well, firstly and most obviously, is Gollum. He is the only character at this point that is outright confirmed to be in the movie. However, the method through which he appears in the movie may not be what you expect. While many people have been assuming Gollum will be the main character of this movie, that may very well not be the case, at least not entirely.

The story of The Hunt for Gollum is likely to primarily focus on the search for Gollum after he leaves his cave in the Misty Mountains after he loses the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins in their fateful encounter. After Gandalf begins to suspect the dangers of Bilbo’s ring, he puts in motion a quest to track down Gollum and learn as much about his “precious” ring as possible.

The adventure of this story will cover a wide area of Middle-Earth, ranging from the wilds of Mirkwood to the dangers of the Dead Marshes and even the wastelands of Mordor itself. Serkis and Jackson have also spoken about how they want to shed a lot more light on Gollum as a character, so there’s a solid possibility that the film will also provide further flashbacks to his time as one of the river folk before he was ensnared by the One Ring.

8Aragorn

The natural next question would be: who exactly is searching for Gollum? Well, assuming Serkis and Jackson remain faithful to Tolkien’s text, the answer is none other than Aragorn, the ranger-who-would-be-king, also known as Strider, who was played by Viggo Mortensen in the original film trilogy.

It seems likely that Aragorn will be a central character in this film, giving audiences an opportunity to see the character during his days as a ranger, before he becomes the hero of men seen in The Lord of the Rings.

If Aragorn is going to be a central part of this Hunt for Gollum film, the casting of the role is going to be crucial. While Mortensen has aged remarkably well over the last 25 years, it would still be a bit strange to see him portray a younger version of the character that he first brought to screens back in 2001. While WB could take a page out of Disney’s book and digitally de-age him, that approach has yet to really be convincing in any extended use.

Because of that, we believe the best route would be to recast the character altogether. While it would be strange to see someone other than Mortensen in the role, there are plenty of actors out there that could be a great fit.

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7Gandalf

The next character that we expect to show up in The Hunt for Gollum is the iconic wizard, Gandalf the Grey. He is another core character to the story being told, as it is he that initiates the search for Gollum and sends Aragorn into the wild with the task of finding the gangly creature.

Gandalf is a character that really needs no introduction. He has been featured in every live-action Lord of the Rings movie that has been produced so far, and that trend is most likely going to continue with The Hunt for Gollum.

Like Aragorn, there are a few different options for how Gandalf could be brought to life in this new film. Ian McKellen would most likely be happy to return to the role, which would give the audience another opportunity to see him in one of the most legendary roles of his career.

That said, McKellen is 84 now, and he may not be all that keen on returning to this kind of blockbuster filmmaking. Like Aragorn, the film may need to make the difficult decision to recast the role with a younger performer, though admittedly, age is less of a factor with a character like Gandalf.

6Thranduil

As it unfolds in Tolkien’s original writing, the story being adapted in The Hunt for Gollum eventually brings our main characters to the Woodland Realm of the Elves in Mirkwood. This provides a clear opportunity for the Elven King Thranduil to factor into this new film. His role could either be a substantial one or a minor supporting part, depending on how Serkis and Jackson want to approach the story.

Regardless, it seems likely that, one way or another, this iconic King among Elves will make an appearance in this new film.

The most exciting thing about including Thranduil in this new film is that it is an opportunity to bring back Lee Pace in the role which he portrayed in all three Hobbit films.

While Jackson’s film trilogy based on The Hobbit certainly has its ups and downs, Pace’s performance as Thranduil was one of the biggest standout positives. He perfectly embodies the regality and intimidating nature of the character, while seamlessly blending into the atmosphere of Jackson’s Middle-Earth adaptation. It’s some of the best casting in any of these movies, and we would absolutely love to see him return.

5Legolas

Clearly, if Thranduil is going to factor into The Hunt for Gollum, it would be an even bigger missed opportunity not to incorporate his son, Legolas, as well. Inserting Legolas into this film in some fashion would also fall in line with the story as it already exists both on-the-page and in the previous films. When the Council of Elrond gathers in Rivendell in The Fellowship of the Ring, it is clear that Aragorn and Legolas already have some sort of relationship with one another.

They have clearly interacted before and hold some level of respect for one another. The end of the Hobbit films even goes as far as setting this up, as Legolas ends those films heading to the wilds of the North in search of the ranger called Strider.

Bringing Legolas into The Hunt for Gollum would also be another opportunity for Orlando Bloom to reprise the role after he already returned for the second two films in the Hobbit trilogy. Similarly to both Mortensen as Aragorn and McKellen as Gandalf though, the question needs to be raised about whether Bloom has aged out of the role.

As an elf, Legolas does not age, and his presentation and characterization in the original Lord of the Rings films feels pretty young. It was already a bit off seeing Bloom play the role again in the Hobbit films, as that depiction of the character felt much older and more grizzled, despite it being some 60 years before his appearance in The Lord of the Rings.

The same would most certainly be the case if Bloom were to return for The Hunt for Gollum, which would be especially disorienting considering the film is set immediately prior to The Fellowship of the Ring.

4Elrond

Yet another famous Elven character that could be likely to return in The Hunt for Gollum is Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell. Played by Hugo Weaving in both Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, Elrond is arguably one of the most well-known Elven characters in the entire franchise. He is also one of the wisest and oldest Elves in Middle-Earth at the time of The Lord of the Rings, making him an essential part of the war efforts against the rising power of Sauron.

Currently, the character is also featured in Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, where he is played by Robert Aramayo, though that series exists in a different continuity than this movie.

Elrond isn’t as obvious an inclusion in this story as some of the other characters on this list, but he could still be a crucial supporting character in two ways. Firstly, Elrond serves as a paternal figure of sorts to Aragorn since the ranger was raised in Rivendell. Because of this, there’s a likelihood that Aragorn will set off on his search for Gollum from Rivendell.

On top of that, Elrond and Gandalf have a close relationship as well and often consult with one another regarding the events in Middle-Earth. With Gandalf seeking Gollum because of his suspicions regarding the One Ring, Elrond would be a key figure that he could speak with while making a plan.

3Elladan and Elrohir

Next up on the list are two characters that many fans of the Lord of the Rings films are likely not familiar with. Elladan and Elrohir are two Elven characters who are the twin sons of Elrond and brothers to Arwen. They appear quite frequently throughout Tolkien’s original novels, though they were cut out of Jackson’s films entirely in order to simplify the storytelling.

The Hunt for Gollum would be an excellent opportunity to finally introduce them, as it would allow for new faces to join the franchise while also pleasing long-time fans that were disappointed with their previous removal from the story.

Including Elladan and Elrohir wouldn’t just be fan-service out of nowhere though. These two characters are some of Aragorn’s closest friends, since he was raised in their company in Rivendell. Aragorn has spent a lot of time with these two, and the twins played a significant role in teaching Aragorn and shaping him into both the ranger (and eventually the King) he was.

While Aragorn searches for Gollum mostly on his own in Tolkien’s original writing, it would not be a stretch to shift the story so that he journeys with Elladan and Elrohir as well.

2Galadriel

Just as Elrond could factor into The Hunt for Gollum in a sort of advisory role to Gandalf, as could the Lady Galadriel. In the Hobbit films, we see Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman taking council with one another to discuss the rise of Sauron. While, in Tolkien’s writings, that was the last gathering of the “White Council” that does not mean that Gandalf and the individual members didn’t seek guidance from one another in the years that followed.

As an even older and wiser Elf than Elrond, Galadrield would be a very useful resource in Gandalf and Aragorn’s quest to find Gollum.

Given that much of the search for Gollum takes places just to the East of the Misty Mountains, the journey would also take our protagonists near the woods of Lothlorien, Galadriel’s home. It would not be a stretch to imagine they visited Lothlorien during this journey. On top of that, this would also be another opportunity for a major star to return to the series, as Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel was a major part of both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

1The Witch King

Finally, the last character that we want to throw into the mix for The Hunt for Gollum is The Witch King. Obviously, this movie is going to need a primary antagonist that our heroes are working against during their search for Gollum.

While that villain is Sauron more broadly, the Dark Lord’s will is typically done through the hands of his Nazgûl. The Witch King may be the Nazgûl leading Sauron’s search for Gollum, which would put him in direct conflict with Gandalf and Aragorn throughout the film.

Admittedly, it doesn’t need to be the Witch King specifically that leads this hunt, we’ve just included him because he’s the most recognizable of all the Nazgûl and therefore a solid bet. However, it could just as easily be another Ringwraith such as Khamûl, the only other Nazgûl that is specifically given a name in Tolkien’s writing.

Without going into too many details for fear of spoilers, The Hunt for Gollum is likely to end with a climactic battle as Sauron wages war upon Thranduil’s kingdom in Mirkwood. Given that the Nazgûl are typically his most intimidating forces, it would make sense to have one of the Nine leading that assault.