One of the most magnetic and ethereal screen presences in modern Hollywood has just been cast in what must be a dream role, both for her and for audiences. Anya Taylor-Joy has been cast in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. She will play Seren, a new character in the upcoming fantasy film directed by Andy Serkis, who also returns to play Gollum through motion capture.
Warner Bros.’ long awaited return to the Middle-earth crafted on the page by J.R.R. Tolkien, and then on-screen by Peter Jackson, already had an outstanding ensemble but now the addition of one of the brightest stars of her generation has increased excitement levels tenfold.
Taylor-Joy is best known for her recent outstanding work in The Queen’s Gambit, The Menu, The Northman, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. She also has blockbuster voice work behind her as Princess Peach in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and will next appear in Dune: Part Three.
The film is expected to follow Aragorn’s search for Gollum before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, after Gandalf begins to suspect that Bilbo’s old ring may be far more dangerous than it appears. In Tolkien’s wider timeline, Aragorn eventually captures Gollum and brings him to Mirkwood, where he is held by the elves before escaping. It is a small thread in the novels, but one with major consequences for the War of the Ring.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
The Matrix
Mad Max
Blade Runner
Dune
Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who’s Involved in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’?
The cast of The Hunt for Gollum includes Serkis (King Kong) as Gollum, Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) as Gandalf, Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) as Frodo, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Thranduil, Jamie Dornan (Belfast) as Aragorn, Leo Woodall (One Day) as Halvard, Kate Winslet (Titanic) as Marigol, and Taylor-Joy (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) as Seren. Serkis directs from a screenplay by Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou, with Peter Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens producing.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 17, 2027.
Release Date
December 17, 2027
Writers
Arty Papageorgiou, Phoebe Gittins, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien
