Lord Of The Rings Prequel Confirms Gandalf, Frodo Casting

A new Lord of the Rings film has entered pre-production, and we now have confirmation about two new characters who are set to appear.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to begin filming next year, with Andy Serkis in the director’s chair as well as reprising his role as the titular character.

Aside from that, we haven’t had much other information surrounding the film’s casting, plot, or other production details.

However, Sir Ian McKellen may have just delivered an important update regarding the film.

Speaking during an appearance at the For the Love of Fantasy event in London, McKellen revealed that Gandalf and Frodo would appear in The Hunt for Gollum.

“I hear there’s going to be another movie based in Middle-earth, and it’s going to start filming in May. It’s going to be directed by Gollum, and it’s all about Gollum,” The 86-year-old Gandalf actor announced.

“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. Apart from that, my lips are sealed.”

While this confirms that Gandalf and Frodo will appear in the film, it doesn’t necessarily say that McKellen or his Hobbit co-star Elijah Wood will be playing the characters again.

Given McKellen’s age and the fact he had a rather miserable time filming The Hobbit, it’s unknown if he’ll be as eager to put the wizard’s robes back on again for a third time.

Although details on The Hunt for Gollum’s plot are light, we know the film will be set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It chronicles Gandalf and Aragorn’s search for Gollum after suspecting the real nature of the ring Bilbo Baggins found during The Hobbit.

This actually happens off-screen during the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, if you refer to the line "I searched everywhere for the creature Gollum, but the enemy found him first."

So, the film will essentially give more context to that, filling in some gaps that Tolkien's original writing covered.