July // 2026
Filming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in New Zealand
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
On July 21, 2026, the Instagram account of The Hobbiton Movie Set confirmed what fans had suspected for months: the Hobbiton set — which has remained a popular tourist destination in New Zealand since 2002 — was closed recently as scenes for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum were shot there.
The caption left very little to the imagination: "Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed that Hobbiton Movie Set was not open for visitors, well-wishers or distant relations last week… The rumours are true, we were catching up with very old friends and sharing our slice of the Shire with the production crew from The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Our team had the privilege of supporting the production, with some of us even donning hairy feet as extras for some scenes!"
Wellington
Principal photography began in July 2026 in Wellington, New Zealand. Warner Bros. confirmed that principal photography on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum began in Wellington on July 14–15, 2026, with Andy Serkis arriving on the Weta FX motion-capture stage in his marker-covered suit and dropping into Gollum's spider-like crouch to call "Action".
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The New Zealand mountains
The first behind-the-scenes teaser released by Warner Bros. showed a set alongside sweeping drone shots of New Zealand mountain landscapes — terrain immediately familiar to anyone who knows the original trilogy.
Hobbiton, Matamata
The Hobbiton Movie Set at Matamata — built on a family-run farm about two hours outside of Auckland — is a confirmed filming location. Built to appear as it did in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, the set quickly became a hot destination for fans of the franchise. Jackson returned to film there when crafting his Hobbit trilogy in the early 2010s. Now Serkis brings the production back again.
SOURCE
Screen Rant // Hobbiton Movie Set Instagram // NZ
CREDITS
© New Line Cinema, WingNut Films, Imaginarium Productions
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