News The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum Aragorn’s Hunt for Gollum Recasting Raises Questions About the Movie’s Timeline When does this movie take place, exactly? By Molly Templeton | Published on April 3, 2026 Screenshot: New Line Cinema Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: New Line Cinema It was probably inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any more welcome news. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum director Andy Serkis has confirmed that the role of Aragorn, son of Arathorn, also called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil’s son of Gondor, will be recast. In an interview with Screen Rant, Serkis said, “I don’t know what’s out there at the moment, but I know there’s a lot of speculation, but let’s just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone.” This is a grave disappointment to many. Viggo Mortensen was an unexpected choice when he was cast for The Fellowship of the Ring all those years ago—in real life, the man is blond—but he owned the role so thoroughly that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else in Strider’s dirty boots. It adds another layer of disappointment that other actors from the earlier trilogy, including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Serkis himself, are returning. (They’ll be joined by Kate Winslet in a mysterious role.) Rumors have been swirling about who might take over the role. On a recent podcast appearance, Wood didn’t disagree when the host mentioned actor Leo Woodall (Netflix’s One Day), but nothing has been confirmed. Woodall looks more like a boy band member than a ranger of the north, but people can surprise you. Confusingly, Serkis also recently said that The Hunt for Gollum “takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.” We had assumed that it took place during The Fellowship of the Ring, which begins with the preparations for Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday. This assumption is backed up by the source material. In Tolkien’s Appendix B, which is largely a timeline, the entry for the year 3001 reads, “Bilbo’s farewell feast. Gandalf suspects his ring to be the One Ring. The guard on the Shire is doubled. Gandalf seeks for news of Gollum and calls on the help of Aragorn.” Not a lot happens for the next several years, until 3009, the entry for which begins, “Gandalf and Aragorn renew their hunt for Gollum at intervals during the next eight years, searching in the vales of Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion to the confines of Mordor.” In 3017, “Gollum is released from Mordor. He is taken by Aragorn in the Dead Marshes and brought to Thranduil in Mirkwood.” The next year, the Fellowship sets out. In the text, the entirety of said hunt takes place off-screen, so to speak, during the early chapters of Fellowship. So either Serkis misspoke, or the writers are playing with Tolkien’s timeline and moving things about. We’ll find out next year; The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released December on 17, 2027.[end-mark] The post Aragorn’s <i>Hunt for Gollum</i> Recasting Raises Questions About the Movie’s Timeline appeared first on Reactor.