The Hobbit Trilogy's Best Character Will Officially Return for the Next Lord of the Rings Movie

Published May 2, 2026, 8:20 AM EDT

Lee Pace's Thranduil Is One of the Most Underrated Performances in The Hobbit Trilogy

Say what you will about The Hobbit trilogy, but it has a great cast, from Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins to Benedict Cumberbatch's motion capture performance as Smaug, and Lee Pace as Thranduil is among the best. Although not necessarily a villain, he is certainly an antagonist, having worked against Bilbo and the Company of Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) until the need arose to side with them in the Battle of the Five Armies.

Fans were excited about Pace's take on Thranduil when The Hobbit came out ever since his announcement in the role, and he didn't disappoint. He had the difficult task of taking these expectations that were formed from reading a children's book and approaching it more seriously, making his Thranduil arrogant and even a little mean. He's also deeply protective of his realm, considering the threat of Smaug, the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, and the growing darkness within Mirkwood itself.

Unfortunately, the fact that the movies didn't turn out as great as The Lord of the Rings ended up masking their incredible cast and performances, Pace's Thranduil among them. The trilogy has failed to retain the interest of broader audiences over time, and even die-hard Tolkien fans often consider them solely for their phenomenal casting. So, what characters like Thranduil need isn't even a chance to redeem themselves, but rather another deserved chance to shine.

Thranduil May Play a Key Role in Andy Serkis' 'The Hunt for Gollum'

The true plot of The Hunt for Gollum isn't yet known, as it's actually an original story based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium. He left only the general outline, speaking broadly of Gollum's capture and release by Sauron, then his capture by Aragorn and imprisonment in Mirkwood, and, finally, of his escape, until he eventually finds and starts following the Fellowship of the Ring. The gaps in this story will be filled in the movie, including the exact roles of certain characters, like Thranduil.

In Tolkien's writings, Thranduil doesn't directly take part in the hunt, and is instead merely the authority under which Gollum is kept prisoner in Mirkwood, and on whom the fault of his escape ultimately falls. There is a lot of room for Thranduil to take direct action, however, as Aragorn deliberately takes Gollum to Mirkwood. It's never revealed exactly why, and the general understanding is that Gandalf (Ian McKellen) told him to do it after having probably alerted Thranduil about Gollum and told him about Aragorn's quest.

Thranduil Connects Both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies

But Lee Pace's portrayal of Thranduil isn't the only thing about the character that is exciting about his return in The Hunt for Gollum. The new movie is the perfect opportunity to tie both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies together, which would not only fill a storytelling gap between them, but also consolidate Peter Jackson's Middle-earth movies as the ultimate Tolkien adaptation, now that there are other works in other corners of the industry.

This has already been attempted in The Hobbit movies by bringing back some characters from The Lord of the Rings who aren't part of that story, like Frodo (Elijah Wood), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), and Elrond (Hugo Weaving). This approach didn't work so well, though; one thing is having Gandalf come back, as he is still an important part of The Hobbit book, but the others felt like reaching for a connection that wasn't there.

Thranduil, however, is the perfect character to make that connection, as he appears in both The Hobbit and the outline for The Hunt for Gollum that Tolkien conceived. Even though Tolkien doesn't mention him directly, this is the sort of gap the new movie can bridge without it feeling weird. The Hunt for Gollum, then, is the single common storyline for both Thranduil and Aragorn that one could argue was conceived by Tolkien himself.

Another point in that sense is that The Hunt for Gollum is much closer to The Lord of the Rings in feel than to The Hobbit. This story is actually set during the prologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, so the sense of urgency of the War of the Ring has already settled. Thranduil appearing in this context is much more organic than The Lord of the Rings characters in The Hobbit, and the stakes of his actions are much closer to what audiences relate to from The Lord of the Rings.