Before Peter Jackson brought The Lord of the Rings Trilogy to life, he built his career with hits that have become a bit underrated in the wake of that mythic undertaking. One such title is Heavenly Creatures – a true crime dramatization that chronicled murder at the hands of two teenage girls. Over 30 years after that masterful picture was released, Jackson’s producing role on Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has now reunited him with Kate Winslet – whose now set to play a pretty major role. And that news came with an effort that sounds like took about as long as a side quest in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy world.
Kate Winslet Has Joined The Hunt For Gollum In A Mysterious Role
Per reporting out of Deadline, Academy Award winner Kate Winslet has been signed on as the female lead. The shoot is supposed to return the Avatar: Fire and Ash star to New Zealand “from late May to October,” in order to meet the picture’s December 17, 2027 release date. While we don’t know who Ms. Winslet will be playing, it’s safe to assume that she’ll be an original character; if not someone mentioned – but never seen – in existing Lord of the Rings lore.
Directed by Andy Serkis, and with a script from writers Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, The Hunt for Gollum is focused on an incident between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies. Much like the animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, this idea comes from “footnotes” left behind by author J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Hunt For Gollum Team Spent A Lot Of Time Securing Kate Winslet
Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis’ efforts to bring Kate Winslet on apparently took “most of last year,” and has resulted in our Titanic icon moving her family to New Zealand for the shoot. With her Heavenly Creatures director in the mix, that probably helped sweeten the pot a bit. The extent of such a pay off is still rather vague, as Winslet’s mystery lead could embody a number of possibilities.
My guess is she’ll be an elf, because how do you not cast Kate Winslet as an elf? Though if she turned out to be a descendant of War of the Rohirrim’s Hera Hammerhand, I would be equally pleased. Either concept sounds like something worth setting up camp in New Zealand for; or if you’re in Jackson and Serkis’ shoes, it was worth spending a good chunk of 2025 trying to secure the deal.
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is slated to land in theaters on December 17, 2027. That means plenty of time for new developments to land on our desk, and in the THS Movie News archives. So keep a browser tab tuned to that source of all the latest, greatest, and dare I say precious, pop culture happenings.
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