Fans reacted with excitement to the casting of Anya Taylor-Joy in the forthcoming Lord of the Rings film, joking that Hollywood had cast the “most elf-like person in the world”.
Warner Bros confirmed on Tuesday that Taylor-Joy had joined the cast of The Hunt for Gollum. The Furiosa star plays Seren, a Sindar elf from the Woodland Realm who is described by the studio as “a trusted and lethal agent of King Thranduil”.
The film, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Andy Serkis, is set between The Hobbit trilogy and The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. It follows Gandalf and Aragorn as they race to find Gollum before Sauron’s forces can capture him and extract what he knows about the One Ring.
Ian McKellen is returning as Gandalf alongside Elijah Wood as Frodo and Lee Pace as Thranduil. Serkis reprises his role as Gollum.
Welcome to the hunt, Anya Taylor-Joy. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum only in theaters 17 December 2027. pic.twitter.com/u7UoU9Jq3F
— Warner Bros. (@warnerbros) June 15, 2026
Taylor-Joy’s casting drew a mostly positive response from fans online, with many saying that she was “perfect” for a high fantasy role set in Tolkien’s universe.
“She already looks like an ethereal, otherworldly creature in real life”, one fan wrote on X, adding that “putting her in silver elf blonde hair and giving her a bow is going to be pure cinema”.
anya taylor joy in the lord of the rings universe is truly the perfect casting…she was born to be in high fantasy movies pic.twitter.com/D6Bjilml6U
— mar (@roycoswift) June 15, 2026
..Seren is a new Sindar Elf, ‘trusted and lethal agent of King Thranduil’ (Lee Pace). Sounds like Thranduil’s elite spymaster / assassin vibe
— Mohsin Husain (@mohsin049) June 16, 2026
“It would have been really funny if they had cast Anya Taylor-Joy – the most elf-like person who has ever lived – and then not had her play an elf,” another said.
Some responses leaned further into the joke. “Casting an actual elf is a big step forward for elvish representation,” a Reddit user said.
“They’ll save a fortune in make-up bills,” another remarked. “Won’t really need any. She’s perfect.”
One fan referenced the actor’s recent run of desert-set films, joking: “So she’ll be taking a break from filming in deserts.”
Taylor-Joy starred as Furiosa in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic desert epic Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and played Alia Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, set largely on the arid planet Arrakis.
Taylor-Joy has herself joked about being typecast as a “desert creature”, telling L’Officiel in April: “It always makes me laugh, because I have no idea what it is about my hair, my skin tone, or the largeness of my eyes that makes anyone think I’m suited to be a desert creature – but people love to put me there, and I do feel a real affinity for it.”
In April, it was revealed that Jamie Dornan was taking on the role of Strider in the new Lord of the Rings film, the alias Aragorn used when he was first introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring.
The White Lotus star Leo Woodall and Kate Winslet play Dúnedain Halvard and matriarch of the Stoors Marigol, respectively.
The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled for release on 17 December 2027.
