Some new live-action storylines will soon be coming to The Lord of the Rings franchise in the form of 2026’s The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum movie, providing the perfect chance to resuscitate Lee Pace’s excellent Thranduil. The upcoming Warner Bros. movie will come after 2024’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, confirming a Lord of the Rings revival for Warner Bros. in the 2020s. Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, launching in 2022, builds the new momentum that J.R.R. Tolkien’s timeless story is experiencing.

Lee Pace starred as the Silvan Elf, Thranduil, in The Hobbit movies, Warner Bros.’ second Lord of the Rings trilogy. Pace’s debut as Thranduil was in the first Hobbit movie, 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Pace went on to star in the next two Hobbit movies, 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Amies. As Legolas’ father, Thranduil was the leader of the Woodland Realm and a key character in Lord of the Rings lore. There is a good chance that his next appearance on screen could be in the Gollum movie.

The Hunt For Gollum Will Likely End Up In Thranduil’s Realm

Gollum Should End Up In Mirkwood

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The plot of The Hunt for Gollum should stray into the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood, Thranduil’s territory. That is because Aragorn caught Gollum during his hunt for him, and subsequently took him to Thranduil in Mirkwood. The movie will show Gollum’s perspective, so it really wouldn’t make much sense for director Andy Serkis to exclude this vital part of Aragorn and Gandalf’s search for Gollum from his movie. That makes Lee Pace’s return as Thranduil likely, along with a possible rekindling of Orlando Bloom’s role as Legolas.

Lee Pace’s Icy Thranduil Could Go So Much Further In The Lord Of The Rings’ Gollum Movie

Pace’s Thranduil Was Wasted In The Hobbit

Lee Pace was icy, haughty, and ageless as Thranduil, and his portrayal was popular among fans and critics alike. There is even a petition on change.org to bring Pace back for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Pace was the perfect Elf, so it was a shame that the brilliance of his performance got lost in the mixed reception for The Hobbit movies. While Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies are widely lauded as some of the best fantasy movies ever made, The Hobbit movies did not enjoy the same praise.

The three adult Hobbit movies were based on one children’s book, so Jackson had to extend, distort, and amplify the source material to make a whole trilogy out of it. The Hobbit movies received criticism for the commercialization of the story, adding the original character Tauriel and a non-canonical romance between her and the Dwarf, Kili. In the 2026 The Lord of the Rings movie focusing on Gollum, Pace and his character finally have a chance to come back in a movie just as good as Pace’s performance. Then, Pace’s Thranduil could get the high praise it deserves.