Leo Woodall may be journeying to fantastical locales with his foray into Middle-earth, but his casting in the continuation of The Lord of the Rings saga is planted firmly in the realm of reality.
The Vladimir star recently opened up to People about his casting, saying, “It means everything. It’s a boyhood dream for me.”
He continued, “I watched it as a kid and I’ve seen it a million times, so to be part of it now is incredible.”
As is standard, Woodall told the magazine he “can’t tease anything” about the project, which will bow in theaters Dec. 17, 2027.
The Tuner actor’s involvement in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum was announced by Warner Bros. at CinemaCon back in April, alongside fellow new castmember Jamie Dornan. The former will play Halvard, a new Dúnedain character not present in J. R. R. Tolkien’s original tomes, while the latter will portray Strider — the alias used by Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen in the 2000s film trilogy).
In addition to Woodall and Dornan, the movie will also feature Kate Winslet, joining in the role of Marigol. Reprising their roles in the franchise are director Andy Serkis as Gollum, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Ian McKellen as Gandalf. Lee Pace is also back as Thranduil.
The Hunt for Gollum follows Aragorn’s perilous quest to capture Gollum before the creature can reveal the Ring’s location to Sauron. The story, much of it developed from Tolkien’s footnotes, is set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.
The new installment will reunite the Oscar-winning team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies — Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens — as they produce two new films for Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. Zane Weiner is also producing. Walsh and Boyens are writing the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Woodall first broke out in The White Lotus Season 2 and Netflix’s limited series adaptation of One Day. He followed those roles up with a star-making turn in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, as well as Nuremberg, opposite Rami Malek, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon.
