The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars are two of the biggest movie franchises of all time, absolute juggernauts in the fantasy action space, making the next two years extremely exciting when it comes to comparing them. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars will face off at the box office for the first time in December 2027, when they are both currently scheduled to have a movie hitting theaters. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will see franchise icon Andy Serkis returning to the lead role, as well as stepping into the role of director.
As the тιтle suggests, The Hunt for Gollum is expected to be about Gollum being pursued by Gandalf and Aragorn during the rough timeline of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf worried that Gollum could divulge information about the One Ring to Sauron. On the other hand, Star Wars’ 2027 movie is not yet confirmed, but there are several upcoming Star Wars movies that could take this slot. Ultimately, Star Wars is on shakier footing at this point, and Lord of the Rings is likely to win the future box office race for several reasons.
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The Hunt For Gollum Is Bringing Back Major LOTR Actors
The Star Wars Legacy Actors Are Probably Done
In addition to Andy Serkis, there is widespread speculation about what Lord of the Rings actors could return for The Hunt for Gollum, namely Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. Given how long it has been since fans saw these actors playing these characters, especially Mortensen, this will be a huge box office draw. Unfortunately, none of the possible Star Wars contenders have anyone to match this.
Shawn Levy’s Star Wars project may have Ryan Gosling attached to it, while Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order movie has her returning, but neither of these projects is likely to feature the likes of Harrison Ford — Han, Luke, and Leia’s part in the story is largely over. While there will certainly be more A-list actors in the various new Star Wars movies, they don’t carry the same mythos or fandom appeal as the stars of the original trilogy.
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Star Wars Will Have A Hard Time Coming Back From Rise Of Skywalker
Star Wars’ Last Major Release Was A Huge Disappointment
Lord of the Rings’ only real flop is The War of the Rohirrim, which took some big risks that alienated some audiences. On the other hand, Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first Star Wars movie to lose money, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker resulted in widespread fandom disappointment with the story. After such a disastrous finale to the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars has its work cut out for it to regain goodwill with moviegoers. 2026’s The Mandalorian & Grogu could repair some of the damage, but may have to be an impossible, unprecedented masterpiece to truly turn things around.
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The Hunt For Gollum Is Working With A Better Premise
Delving Into The Psyche Of Gollum Sounds Fascinating
Especially if the New Jedi Order movie ends up with the 2027 release date, Star Wars runs the risk of delivering another movie that is too similar to what has been seen before. Star Wars loves its hero’s journeys, and may end up with another rehashed plot, or more exploration of the Skywalker Saga timeline, which has been pushed to the breaking point.
However, Lord of the Rings hasn’t looked too closely at things happening off-screen during the timeline of the original trilogy, and Gollum is a promising story. While Andy Serkis’ performance in the movies reveals much when it comes to Gollum’s complicated psyche, the premise of a movie focusing on him blended with a game of cat and mouse with another legacy character could be even more chilling.
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Star Wars’ Oversaturation Problem Is Worse That LOTR
There Are Several Star Wars Movies In The Works
Getting the most out of franchises that are known to be profitable at the expense of the story is a common problem in Hollywood these days. However, Lord of the Rings’ projects are still fairly spread out, and somewhat separate from each other. Meanwhile, Star Wars has inundated us with movies and TV shows since Disney acquired the franchise; they have at least four movies that are probably coming out in the 2026 to 2030 range. Overall, The Hunt for Gollum is far less likely to feel like another bland sequel-prequel-spinoff made only to make money.
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To An Extent, We Already Know What Hunt For Gollum Is Going To Be
Star Wars’ “Unconfirmed тιтle” Move Might Not Work Out In Its Favor
Lord of the Rings is already building up hype for The Hunt for Gollum with specificity. We know that it will be a movie about Gollum, possibly featuring Aragorn and/or Gandalf, directed by and starring Andy Serkis. All are very exciting elements. Star Wars has booked the 2027 because it knows it will have something, but can barely tell moviegoers what that is yet, banking on the Star Wars banner alone to get people invested early.
And this, given the varying quality of Star Wars’ releases in recent years, isn’t enough anymore. Lord of the Rings knows exactly what it is doing, and can continue to drop tidbits for the next two years for the most effective marketing possible for a promising new adventure.
The Lord of the Rings
- Movie(s)
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The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
- Created by
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J.R.R. Tolkien
- First Film
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The Lord of the Rings (1978)
- Cast
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Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
- TV Show(s)
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- Character(s)
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Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows
