Here’s What The Hunt for Gollum’s Casting Rumors Could Reveal About The Plot

Everything we learn about the new Lord of the Rings midquel, The Hunt for Gollum, we’re learning against our will. The upcoming film felt about as superfluous as one could get when its development was first announced, and, for certain fans, each new update only reinforces that feeling. That Andy Serkis will direct and star in The Hunt for Gollum, reprising his role as the eponymous villain, is moderately interesting — but as the film is supposedly set between the events of The Hobbit films and The Fellowship of the Ring, it will inevitably trample all over the trilogy that has become so beloved to fans. The cast members who can return (like Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood) will, but the rest will have to be recast. Wood even seemed to confirm in a recent interview that Leo Woodall will be taking on the character of Aragorn, a necessary evil in every sense of the term.

Disappointments and Hobbit-ish complaining aside, it’s also kind of fun to watch the plot for this closely-guarded film begin to take shape. There’s so little material at hand to base this story on that any update also feels like a crucial clue. Nearly everything that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about Gollum’s past has already been adapted, save for some tantalizing background in Chapter 2 of The Fellowship of the Ring — “The Shadow of the Past.” It's in these pages that Gandalf explains the history of the Ring to Frodo and Gollum’s connection to it, and if you read those pages while taking a look at the casting updates, it’s almost like we can already figure out what’s going on with this movie. In fact, some of the casting choices could help reveal the direction that The Hunt for Gollum could take. At least at first.

Hunt for Gollum Casting Clues

Back in March, Kate Winslet was officially cast in The Hunt for Gollum in a mystery role. Rumors have swirled about who she could be playing, with two unorthodox options emerging from the pack. Winslet could be joining The Hunt for Gollum as either Gilraen the Fair, mother of Aragorn, or Gollum’s unnamed grandmother. Both are mentioned in Tolkien’s writings, albeit briefly: Gilraen pops up in Tolkien’s appendices, while Gollum mentions his grandmother in The Fellowship of the Ring. The latter character could provide some interesting insight into Gollum’s past, before he found the One Ring or was called Gollum at all.

Director Peter Jackson skimmed through Gollum’s origins in The Return of the King, revealing that he was once a Stoor-hobbit called Smeagol. His backstory is addressed quickly in that film, but there are a few parts of it that were left out — like how his discovery of the One Ring impacted his life in Hobbit society. Smeagol’s grandma was most likely the leader of their community and responsible for exiling him when his obsession with the Ring went too far. Centuries later, when caught and tortured by Gandalf, Gollum would claim that his grandmother possessed Rings of Power of her own. That sounds interesting enough to be explored in a feature film, and it might just be a crucial part of Serkis’ film. Basically, if you reread “The Shadow of the Past” and look at the details, you’ll be convinced that Winslet is playing Smeagol’s grandma.

“The Shadow of the Past” Could Be the Foundation of The Hunt For Gollum

On top of this, while fans may be bummed out that Viggo Mortensen isn’t getting de-aged as Aragorn, it’s very likely that Woodall’s new take on Strider probably won’t be in the movie all that much. Aagorn’s involvement in the literal hunt for Gollum in “The Shadow of the Past” isn’t the whole story. Gandalf uses Wood Elves to track down Gollum at one point, which could mean that this version of Aragorn may not even be in the film all that much. Plus, if the movie (or movies) detail Gollum’s backstory hundreds of years in the past, then there’s potentially even less screen time for Aragorn. (To be clear, in this context, we’re talking about “The Shadow of the Past” in reference to the second chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, not the working title for the upcoming Stephen Colbert Lord of the Rings movie, which will take place after Fellowship.)

There’s no word yet on whether The Hunt for Gollum will actually be the first in a two-part series, but either way, a big chunk of it will likely give us Smeagol’s full origin story. McKellen and Wood are both set to reprise their respective roles as Gandalf and Frodo Baggins, but they’ll probably — almost certainly — be the ones discussing the story of Gollum years after the events of the original trilogy. Either that, or we’ll get some version of “The Shadow of the Past,” with de-aging action. Either way, if the film does use that narrative framem it will give the movie a familiar way in to a tangential story, but also allow The Hunt for Gollum to play a bit fast and loose with its narrative.

Again, it’s not a tale we necessarily have to know — but if it must be done, at least it could build out Middle-earth in an intriguing new way.

The Hunt for Gollum hits theaters on December 17, 2027.