This Hollywood Actress Joins HUNT FOR GOLLUM Cast in Mystery Role

Published: March 13, 2026

By India McCarty

Kate Winslet is set to join the cast of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM.

“[Director Andy] Serkis and Peter Jackson spent most of last year coaxing Winslet to appear in the film, which means uprooting to New Zealand to shoot her scenes in the film from late May through to October,” Deadline reported, adding that sources have told them Winslet will play “the female lead, although the role has not been disclosed.”

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Winslet joins a cast that already includes Elijah Wood, reprising his role as Frodo, and Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

“I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film,” Wood told The Times. “It’s always a little nerve-racking when people talk about new movies for a world like Middle-earth. Everyone gets a little protective and hopes it retains its level of integrity, but this story is fun, thrilling. There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together. I’m just excited.”

Plot details for THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM have been scarce, but writer Philippa Boyens told Empire Magazine, “It’s an adventure story with a really strong psychological, interior story that’s going on as well.”

Serkis who, in addition to directing, will also play the titular character, told the outlet that he’s excited to revisit “a character that has never really left me, and this time stepping into the directorial shoes of the man who created these important movies that have affected so many people’s lives over the course of the last quarter of a century.”

“It is a phenomenal challenge, exciting and of course terrifying at the same time,” he continued. “We have a very specific task ahead of us. A return to Middle-earth, that satisfies the passion and the love that generations of LORD OF THE RINGS fans have for these stories, whilst also presenting something completely fresh and new for first-timers to Middle-earth, with one of Tolkien’s richest and most complex characters at its heart.”

The TITANIC star isn’t the only big name joining THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM’s cast.

“According to insider Daniel Richtman, Leo Woodall has reportedly been cast as a younger Aragorn, who at this point in the story is still known as Strider,” Geek Tyrant revealed.

Woodall’s previous credits include THE WHITE LOTUS, ONE DAY and BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY.

Geek Tyrant acknowledged that Woodall’s casting “hasn’t officially [been] confirmed,” but that the studio was “looking for a younger actor to step into the role made famous by Viggo Mortensen.”

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM premieres in theaters Dec. 17, 2027.

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