Peter Jackson has provided updates on the production progress of two Lord of the Rings films. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is nearing the completion of filming, with about two weeks of work remaining; The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past is currently still in the scriptwriting phase.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled for release on December 17, 2027, and will move into the next production stage after filming wraps. The film is set during the 17-year period at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, focusing on Gandalf's search for Gollum. He must find Gollum before his enemies do, to prevent the location of the One Ring from being revealed.
This story is adapted from Tolkien's original works, but the previous film trilogy compressed the timeline to just a few months. How the new films will connect with the original trilogy remains a point of interest.
The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past, co-led by Stephen Colbert, has not yet announced an official release date. The film plans to weave together two narrative threads: one following Sam, Merry, and Pippin years after the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which is new content; the other will adapt chapters from The Fellowship of the Ring novel that were not used in Jackson's previous film adaptation.
The approach of expanding the classic story has drawn some criticism, though both projects are still based on Tolkien's texts to varying degrees. Currently confirmed details are limited to production progress and the aforementioned narrative direction; the final script, casting, and release plans are still subject to change.