The fantasy film is scheduled to release in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.

*The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum *officially recasts Aragorn

The fantasy film is scheduled to release in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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April 14, 2026 8:47 p.m. ET

Viggo Mortensen in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'. Credit:

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Middle-earth has found its new Aragorn.

Warner Bros. announced that the fan-favorite Ranger of the North will be portrayed by Jamie Dornan in the next *Lord of the Rings* film, *The Hunt for Gollum*. However, he's being credited as "Strider," which is the name he was first introduced as in *The Fellowship of the Ring*, rather than Aragorn. Viggo Mortensen originally played the role in Peter Jackson's trilogy.

Jamie Dornan; Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn.

Aurore Marechal/Getty; New Line Cinema

Also officially in the cast: Leo Woodall as Halvard, Kate Winslet as Marigol, and returning franchise stars Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, and Lee Pace as Thranduil.

*The Hunt for Gollum *will be directed by Andy Serkis, who portrayed the titular creature in Jackson's original trilogy as well as the *Hobbit* trilogy, and will do so again in the new film.

"It's *The Hunt for Gollum*, and it is a physical hunt for the character, but also a psychological hunt for himself," he explained to Screenrant. "We're just about on the launchpad now, and it's very exciting. And yeah, it's going to be a big ride."

Mortensen previously reflected on the possibility of returning as Aragorn in a 2024 interview with *GQ*. "I don't know exactly what the story is. I haven't heard. Maybe I'll hear about it eventually," he said. "I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise."

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McKellen previously let the cat out of the bag that he and Wood would reprise their roles from the original film in *The Hunt for Gollum*. "I'll tell you two secrets about the casting: There's a character in the movie called Frodo, and there's a character in the movie called Gandalf," he said in August.

WB also recently announced that *LOTR* superfan Stephen Colbert is writing a new project in the franchise titled *The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past*. The film will take inspiration from eight chapters of *The Fellowship of the Ring* that weren't adapted in Jackson's first film.

Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'.

New Line/courtesy Everett

"I thought, 'Oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books, while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?" Colbert said as the project was announced.

The official synopsis for that film reads: "Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo — Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam's daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began."

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*The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* is scheduled to release on Dec. 17, 2027.

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