Elijah Wood had something interesting to say about the alleged plot leak for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum spinoff movie. The upcoming action fantasy film received news in February 2025, after director Andy Serkis confirmed that it would be delayed to December 2027. Even though the official plot details for The Hunt for Gollum are still under wraps, the movie will be a prequel, since Gollum died at the end of Return of the King.
An apparent leak of The Hunt for Gollum's story has emerged, though, indicating that the movie will explore Smeagol prior to his transformation into Gollum. The synopsis claims that the plot centers on Gollum leaving his cave to find the One Ring, after it has been taken away by Bilbo Baggins.
The Direct was in attendance in person at Elijah Wood's panel at Fan Expo Vancouver earlier this year, during which the Frodo Baggins actor addressed a plot leak about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. He confirmed the leak's legitimacy, while also teasing Gollum/Smeagol's role in the film:
Q: "Is there anything you can give fans about a teaser or what's in store for the Lord of the Rings fans with [The Hunt for Gollum] or any involvement with yourself?"
Elijah Wood: "I feel like just [recently], someone articulated what the premise of the film is... Like, the actual logline of the movie and in more detail. So, that's cool. It's out there in the world. So, it's essentially following Gollum, and it's a little bit of the backstory of Smeagol, and understanding a little bit more deeply where he came from... And then [the film is] tracking him with Rangers, who have been tasked to track him, because he's got this sort of... he carries with him, as he's tortured. We see that a little bit in Lord of the Rings, where he's tortured, and he sort of says, 'Shire Baggins,' which alerts Sauron to the Shire, because otherwise, it was not a place he was ever considering looking for."
The fact that Wood acknowledged that the leaked synopsis is "out there in the world" is an exciting prospect, as it appears to be the first subtle confirmation of what to expect in the upcoming spinoff.
Based on what Wood said during the panel, the story of The Hunt for Gollum will be primarily set before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, lining up with the timeline of the leak and an earlier report about the movie's setting.
What is new is that part of the film will focus on a young Smeagol (before he began his descent into Gollum). The plot leak outlines the movie's exploration Smeagol's tragic turn into the resentful Gollum, so fans will get to see more of the character prior to his descent into madness.
The rangers that Wood is referring to appear to match up with the plot leak's description that Strider (AKA Aragorn) will be tracking down Gollum, who is supposedly tasked by Gandalf in order to prevent evil forces from uncovering the location of the One Ring. This is due to Gollum's knowledge of Bilbo Baggins and the location of the ring, risking this information from falling into the wrong hands.
Set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe and directed by Andy Serkis, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will bring back Serkis as Gollum, Lee Pace as Thranduil, and Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey. Viggo Mortensen is not slated to return as Aragorn, with Jamie Dornan being tapped to play the hero instead. Also appearing in the film are Kate Winslet and Leo Woodall in all-original roles.
Wood is, of course, also confirmed to appear in the prequel, with the actor teasing in October 2025 that there will be many fun cameos in The Hunt for Gollum, drumming up hype for the movie. The Hunt for Gollum will release on December 17, 2027/
Why The Hunt for Gollum Can Reignite Interest for The Lord of the Rings
The Hunt for Gollum's leaked premise is exciting because it is poised to expand on a full-blown adventure, anchored by the core characters preventing Sauron from learning more about Gollum's location. This is crucial because they are ultimately protecting the Ring's secret location in the Shire.
Aside from its story, The Hunt for Gollum has nostalgia written all over it due to the expected cameos and timeline placement, key setup to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, and possible callback to The Hobbit movies.
What makes The Hunt for Gollum even more intriguing is that the original creative core team returns behind the scenes, led by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. The trio's return signals their commitment to recapturing the magic of the original trilogy, which is a good sign for the franchise's future.
Other major franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones relied on nostalgia and capitalized on it by exploring untold stories in between movies and expanding backstories of key characters. The Hunt for Gollum has the potential to replicate that and reinvigorate the Lord of the Rings franchise like never before.
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