Dominic Monaghan says he has had “vague-ish” conversations with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens about reprising the role of Merry Brandybuck in future Middle-earth projects, including Andy Serkis’s forthcoming The Hunt for Gollum. Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment on August 21, 2026, Monaghan made clear that he has no intention of stepping aside.
“If Ian McKellen can still play Gandalf, I think I can still play Merry,” Monaghan said. “I can’t let anyone else do it.”
In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Meriadoc Brandybuck is among the four hobbits who leave the Shire: the young hobbit who walks into the darkness of Pelennor Fields and strikes the blow that (actually) fells the Witch-king alongside Eowyn (because in the books he’s actually using a blade found in the Barrow Downs). Tolkien gives Merry a full life after the War of the Ring, too. He returns to Buckland, becomes Master of the Hall, and eventually rides back to Rohan and Gondor in his old age to spend his final years among the great kings he once served. The character has plenty of story left on the page.
Whether any of that feeds into The Hunt for Gollum is another question. Serkis’s film centers on the period between The Hobbit and the main action of The Lord of the Rings, tracking Gandalf and Aragorn’s search for Smeagol after Bilbo’s famous “birthday present” goes missing from Bag End. Merry would have been a young hobbit at Brandy Hall during those years, still a decade or more away from the quest that would define his life. Any appearance would require creative license beyond what Tolkien laid out, which is worth noting openly.
Monaghan also mentioned Elijah Wood (Frodo) and McKellen (Gandalf) as part of the returning contingent he is eager to work alongside. He described the New Zealand creative team’s view of Middle-earth as an expanding world, comparable to how Lucasfilm has handled Star Wars or Marvel its own shared universe.
Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens are producing The Hunt for Gollum for Warner Bros., with Serkis directing. No official cast list has been released beyond Serkis himself and McKellen’s confirmed return as Gandalf.
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