Sam Heughan may be joining The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, though his casting has not been officially confirmed. The Outlander actor’s name has been linked to the film through an earlier report and several subsequent clues, including his signature on a book signed by people associated with the production.
An anonymous source told fan site TheOneRing.net in September 2026 that Heughan would have a “major role.” The following month, he told attendees at the Wigtown Book Festival that he had recently visited New Zealand, where the film is being made. His signature also appeared on a copy of The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien auctioned by Royd Tolkien, alongside 16 signatures attributed to the film’s cast and crew.
Heughan has previously spoken about wanting to join Middle-earth. He said in a 2024 podcast interview that he had auditioned to play an Elf in The Hobbit films, and told The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2025 that he was still eager to play an Elf or a Dwarf. He has also said that he was named after Samwise Gamgee.
If the reports prove accurate, Heughan would bring fantasy experience from Outlander, where he played Jamie Fraser. That would mark a difference from the casting approach associated with Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy, whose performers largely had little prior experience in fantasy. Other reported Hunt for Gollum cast members also have genre credentials: Jamie Dornan appeared in Once Upon a Time, while Anya Taylor-Joy has acted in the fantasy films The Witch and The Northman.
Andy Serkis is directing The Hunt for Gollum, which is set to return some actors from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films while introducing new cast members. The film is scheduled for release on December 17, 2027. Neither Heughan’s possible role nor the other casting details described in the reports have been officially confirmed in the information available.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.