Iconic ‘Dune' Star Is Joining ‘The Lord of the Rings' Universe
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is a highly anticipated film that will be set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. Several stars from the franchise are reprising their roles from earlier films, including Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Lee Pace, and Andy Serkis.
Of course, there will be some new faces joining the cast as well, including Kate Winslet, Jamie Dornan, and Leo Woodall. On June 15, Deadline announced another huge star who is joining the Lord of the Rings franchise. She is known for her iconic roles in The Queen's Gambit, Last Night in Soho, The Menu, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Dune.
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"In the Andy Serkis-directed film, Taylor-Joy will play the role of Seren, a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm, a trusted and lethal agent of King Thranduil (Pace)," the outlet reported.
The news was also posted on Instagram by the official Lord of the Rings account. It said, "Welcome to the hunt, Anya Taylor-Joy" and has already racked up 70,000 likes from excited fans. Most viewers are excited about the news, although some are skeptical of the new character that Taylor-Joy will be playing.
One commenter said, "Here we go with the made-up characters... But I'll stay optimistic until seeing it. At least she is perfect to play an Elf."
There's not much known about her character at this point. However, Gollum will be a central character in the story. When speaking about the upcoming film earlier this year, Peter Jackson told Deadline, "The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic."
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He continued, "I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there's a little bit of both of them in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn't have time to cover in the earlier films."
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is coming to theaters in December 2027.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:34 PM.