Although The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of the original trilogy movies, was released 25 years ago, the franchise is currently booming, with several projects officially in the works. The Lord of the Rings is largely considered among the greatest fantasy movies of all time, as well as one of the best book adaptations of all time, although that hasn’t always meant box office success for Lord of the Rings movies. While the original trilogy movies are almost universally seen as masterpieces, the trilogy based on The Hobbit was not nearly as well-received.
The franchise seemed to potentially be dead, at least in terms of the big screen, following that box office flop, although Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streaming series breathed some new life into the franchise in 2022. This was followed by an anime movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, in 2024. Now, the entire franchise seems to be turning a new leaf, with multiple projects (some very unexpected) confirmed to be in development.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3
The least surprising of the currently confirmed Lord of the Rings projects is The Rings of Power Season 3, which is expected in late 2026 or early 2027. This new season has been confirmed since 2024, and the show reportedly wrapped production on the third season in December of 2025. The series is centered on Galadriel, a royal elf who was pivotal to Middle-Earth throughout multiple points in the timeline, including the original trilogy.
This show, however, is set thousands of years before either The Hobbit or the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and features none other than Sauron himself, although he looks very different in this show than he has on the big screen. Season 3 no doubt has many exciting plot points in store for audiences, as well as some new faces, including Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower, whose character remains a mystery for now.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum was the first new Lord of the Rings movie announced of those that are currently in production, and its announcement was much more surprising than that of The Rings of Power Season 3. The movie is directed by Andy Serkis, who both voiced and did the body work for motion capture for Sméagol/Gollum in the original trilogy movies and The Hobbit trilogy. Original Gandalf actor Ian McKellan is also confirmed to be returning, and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins is all but confirmed.
The movie will take place during the 17-year search for Gollum that happens in the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, which wasn’t really shown in Peter Jackson’s movie. In addition to Gandalf, Aragorn will be on the hunt, although the casting for Aragorn hasn’t yet been confirmed. The movie is currently slated for December 17, 2027.
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past
The most recent and most shocking Lord of the Rings announcement was for The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, which will be co-written by Stephen Colbert, along with Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee, Colbert’s son who is a screenwriter. The movie will reportedly be set about 14 years after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and will focus on Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Sam’s daughter.
Interestingly, however, it seems the bulk of the story will be based on chapters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring that did not appear in Jackson’s movie, specifically chapters 3 through 8. Presumably, based on both factors, the movie will be set 14 years after The Return of the King but will tell the Fellowship of the Rings stories in flashback. This project does not currently have a release date, but it has already garnered significant attention.
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