It is a good time for The Lord of the Rings, with Legolas almost certain to appear in the Warner Bros. picture coming up in 2026. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim movie will be the next Warner Bros. Lord of the Rings movie to be released, coming out on December 13, 2024. It will be the first LotR anime movie ever made and will be followed by the heavily anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. This is the exciting 2026 venture that must contain Legolas, as suggested by the movie’s recent timeline update.

The Hunt for Gollum movie will be directed by Andy Serkis, who will also reprise his role as the movie’s titular wretch. Hunt for Gollum screenwriter Philippa Boyens confirmed that the movie’s story will fall “after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria” and will be “told through the perspective of [Gollum]” (Empire). This should entail an almost certain appearance from Lord of the Rings fan favorite, Legolas Greenleaf of the Woodland Realm. There are numerous signs that point to Orlando Bloom stepping back into the role.

Aragorn Will Have To Bring Gollum To Legolas’ Woodland Realm In The Hunt For Gollum

Aragorn Brought Gollum To Mirkwood In The Book

Set between Bilbo’s birthday party and the Fellowship’s entry to the Mines of Moria, the story of The Hunt for Gollum will likely stray into Legolas’ realm, Mirkwood. At least, that is the way the story went in the book. Aragorn brought Gollum to Mirkwood 16 years after Bilbo’s party and two years before the Fellowship reached Moria. There is no guarantee that The Hunt for Gollum will faithfully reproduce Tolkien’s tale, but with so few details outlined in the book, it wouldn’t be logical for the movie to cut one of the source material’s main pillars.

The Hunt For Gollum Timeline
Year
Month
Date

Bilbo’s birthday party
3001
September
22

Gandalf started seeking news of Gollum and called on Aragorn’s help
3001
Unknown
Unknown

Gandalf and Aragorn renewed their hunt for Gollum
3009 – 3017
Unknown
Unknown

Sauron captured and tortured Gollum
3009 – 3017
Unknown
Unknown

Sauron let Gollum go
3017
Unknown
Unknown

Aragorn caught Gollum
3017
Unknown
Unknown

Gollum escaped
3018
June
20

All trace of Gollum lost, Gollum thought to have entered Moria
3018
August
Unknown

Frodo left Bag End
3018
September
23

Council of Elrond, meeting of the Fellowship
3018
October
25

Fellowship left Rivendell
3018
December
25

Fellowship reached West-gate of Moria
3019

The story of Gandalf and Aragorn’s hunt for Gollum is told in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, exemplifying Tolkien’s unique literary style. Tolkien’s works on Middle-earth were mythopoeic – not just the novel that was Lord of the Rings, but a series of essays, timelines, poems, family trees, sketches, short stories, and longer stories. Warner Bros. doesn’t have the rights to adapt many of these, but it does have the rights to The Hobbit and LotR. The Hunt for Gollum will adapt an “Appendix B” timeline, which puts Aragorn finally catching Gollum and taking him to Mirkwood in 3017.

Orlando Bloom Wants To Return (& His Age Isn’t An Issue)

Andy Serkis And Orlando Bloom Discussed The Hunt For Gollum

Orlando Bloom confirmed his enthusiasm for joining The Hunt for Gollum as Legolas, which is fortunate since Mirkwood is Legolas’ realm. When Aragorn brought Gollum to Mirkwood, he brought him to the king of the realm, Thranduil. Thranduil is Legolas’ father, making Legolas Prince of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood. This makes Lee Pace’s Thranduil a key player in The Hunt for Gollum and Orlando Bloom’s Legolas very likely to cross Gollum’s path in the movie. Although Legolas wasn’t name-dropped in the loosely sketched “Appendix B,” he would be integral to Mirkwood politics.

When asked by Variety if he would play Legolas again in The Hunt for Gollum, Orlando Bloom said, unequivocally, “yeah.” Bloom addressed his age, acknowledging that over 10 years have passed since Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie. Not only is Bloom keen to play Legolas again, but Andy Serkis is keen to have him back in The Hunt for Gollum. Bloom said to Variety that Serkis already approached him about joining the movie and put his mind at ease about his age, confirming that he will use AI to tackle actors’ aging.

The Hunt For Gollum’s Mirkwood Sequence Will Provide Action That Warner Bros. Can’t Resist

There Is A Major Action Sequence During Gollum’s Time In Mirkwood

Bringing Gollum to Legolas’ realm is a no-brainer for The Hunt for Gollum – not only is it a huge part of the canon story, but it involves a massive action sequence. On June 20, 3018, in the Third Age, Sauron began the War of the Ring in earnest, attacking Osgiliath and Mirkwood on the same day. This was fortunate for Gollum, as it allowed him to escape. Told from Gollum’s perspective, the movie must surely cover Gollum’s captivity, his experience under siege, and his escape from Mirkwood. Warner Bros. loves action, so it won’t be able to resist Sauron’s Mirkwood raid.

Tolkienian Age
Event Marking The Start
Years
Total Length In Solar Years

Before time
Indeterminate
Indeterminate
Indeterminate

Days before Days
Ainur entered Eä
1 – 3,500 Valian Years
33,537

Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)
Yavanna created the Two Trees
Y.T. 1 – 1050
10,061

First Age (F.A.)
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen
Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590
4,902

Second Age (S.A.)
War of Wrath ended
S.A. 1 – 3441
3,441

Third Age (T.A.)
Last Alliance defeated Sauron
T.A. 1 – 3021
3,021

Fourth Age (Fo.A)
Elven-rings left Middle-earth
Fo.A 1 – unknown
Unknown

Legolas and a battle between Elves and Orcs must be an intoxicating combination for Warner Bros. and viewers alike – the combined commercial appeal of the two is beaten only by its faithfulness to Tolkien’s vision. Granted, the movie will have to invent dialogue and suspense points – stories are only roughly portrayed in the appendices. However, the movie could draw inspiration from Unfinished Tales without explicitly adapting it. This text offers more detail, confirming that Sauron heard of Gollum’s imprisonment and sacked Mirkwood to find him, making Sauron’s raid much more dangerous for Gollum and nail-biting for viewers.

The Lord Of The Rings’ Gollum Movie Must Still Overcome An Aragorn Problem

The Hunt For Gollum Needs Aragorn

Aragorn’s capture of Gollum, Gollum’s captivity in Mirkwood, and the Orc raid all rely on Aragorn featuring in The Hunt for Gollum, so the movie may struggle if Mortensen refuses the part. Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn is beloved as Peter Jackson’s knight in shining armor, and his return will be welcomed by fans if it falls into a faithful Tolkien adaptation. Those who don’t like the idea of adapting the appendices, owing to their scant detail, won’t like Hunt for Gollum any more than War of the Rohirrim, but those open to it could find the movie a rich lore feast.

Legolas and a battle between Elves and Orcs must be an intoxicating combination for Warner Bros. and viewers alike…

Viggo Mortensen has already been asked about joining the cast of Hunt for Gollum. He told GQ that he would “if [he] was right for it in terms of… the age [he is] now and so forth. [He] would only do it if [he] was right for the character.” Mortensen expressed valid concerns regarding his age, considering the fact that he was even older than Orlando Bloom when he filmed The Lord of the Rings. However, Serkis’ confirmation to Bloom that The Hunt for Gollum will use AI technology to de-age the cast makes Mortensen’s return as Aragorn more likely.

Source: Empire, GQ