Wellington to be hub for new Lord of the Rings movies

Wellington will be the production hub for two new Lord of the Rings films, Screen Wellington head of attraction Mark Westerby says.

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.

It is scheduled to debut in theatres in 2026.

The title and release date of the second film have not yet been announced.

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 JRR Tolkien and set in the fictional land of Middle Earth inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits.

 - RNZ/Reuters