Two new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies heading to theaters

May 9, 2024 – 10:57 AM PDT

Director Peter Jackson (2nd/L) and cast members of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' from left to right: Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Viggo Mortensen pose for photographers in Tokyo January 21, 2004. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo — Director Peter Jackson (2nd/L) and cast members of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ from left to right: Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Viggo Mortensen pose for photographers in Tokyo January 21, 2004. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A fresh installment in the “Lord of the Rings” movie series, one of the biggest film franchises of all time, is scheduled to debut in theaters in 2026.

It is one of two new “Lord of the Rings” films announced by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) CEO David Zaslav on Thursday.

Andy Serkis will reprise his role as Gollum and will direct the first of the two films, which has a working title of “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.”

Peter Jackson, who directed the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy two decades ago followed by three “Hobbit” movies, will serve as a producer of the new films.

The movies are based on books written by J.R.R. Tolkien and set in the fictional land of Middle-earth inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits.

The prior movies in the franchise have earned nearly $6 billion combined at global box offices. The 2003 movie, “Return of the King,” won 11 Oscars including best picture.

A previously announced animated “Lord of the Rings” film, called “The War of the Rohirrim,” is set for release in theaters this December.

^{Reporting by Lisa Richwine, Editing by Nick Zieminski}