Anya Taylor-Joy is joining The Hunt for Gollum.
The 30-year-old actress is making her first foray into The Lord of the Rings franchise by joining the cast of the upcoming prequel movie to be directed by Andy Serkis, who will also be reprising his role as Gollum.
The Hollywood Reporter states Anya will be playing an elf in the film, which is set between the events of The Hobbit trilogy and The Lord of the Rings films and is believed to tell the story of Aragorn and Gandalf searching for Gollum in a find to learn more about Bilbo’s ring.
Sir Ian McKellen is returning as Gandalf while Elijah Wood is reprising his role as Frodo.
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum also features new castmembers including Kate Winslet as Marigol, Jamie Dornan replacing Viggo Mortensen as Strider and Leo Woodall playing new character Halvard, who wasn't part of J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic books.
Woodall recently opened up about his role in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum describing it as a "boyhood dream".
The 29-year-old actor told PEOPLE magazine: "It means everything. It's a boyhood dream for me. I watched it as a kid and I've seen it a million times, so to be part of it now is incredible."
Sir Peter Jackson, who directed the original Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, will serve as a producer on Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum, and he recently revealed how Todd Phillips' Joker movie served as inspiration for The Hunt For Gollum.
He told IndieWire: "We were thinking about the original Joker film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix. The way that explored the Joker's psychology while it was telling a story.
"We've got the story that's in the appendices, and we'll tell that story, but we'll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective. You're taking written things by (J.R.R.) Tolkien and filming them for a certain POV, and that means you have to get inside his head.
"I've got no particular desire to get inside Gollum's head. Andy Serkis can do that himself."
Jackson explained that The Hunt for Gollum – which is slated for release in December 2027 - originates from notes at the end of one of Tolkien's novels. The Beatles: Get Back helmer said: "We're legally allowed to adapt anything from The Lord of the Rings books. Now, The Lord of the Rings has got these big appendices at the end.
"Fifty or 60 pages of Tolkien's notes, background on characters and stuff that's not in the actual novel but is tacked on at the end.
"Little side stories, embellishments, enlargements – and part of The Hunt for Gollum is described in that. Gollum's childhood and how he became what he was. Him trying to get to the Shire, and the Rangers tracking him down. He ends up being captured and taken to Mordor – it's all in the appendices."
As well as The Hunt For Gollum, Middle-earth fans have more to look forward to as former Late Show host Stephen Colbert is co-writing a new Lord of the Rings movie with his son Peter Colbert.
The film will focus on chapters from Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring which didn't make it into the movie adaptation.
