LOTR: Hunt For Gollum Fan Film Reinstated On YouTube After Brief Removal

Update: After being hit with a copyright strike from Warner Bros., the fan film The Hunt for Gollum has been reinstated on YouTube. Many fans criticized the move to take the film offline, and now it's been reinstated and can be seen below. A source told THR that the movie's removal initially was due to an error.

Lord of the Rings fans will have to wait until 2026 before they can get their next franchise film, The Hunt for Gollum, but the name has already been applied to a couple of things within LOTR: an expansion set for The Lord of The Rings: The Card Game, and a beloved fan film from 2009--which you can watch now!

The Hunt for Gollum is based on the appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings centering around Gandalf the Grey sending Aragorn to find Gollum, fearing the creature may reveal information to Sauron about the location of the One Ring. Check it out below.

The film was shot in high-definition video, with a budget of $5,000, or $3,000 GBP. The production is completely unofficial and unauthorized, though director Chris Bouchard said he had "reached an understanding" with Tolkien Enterprises in 2009. The formal disclaimer opens the film and acknowledges the situation.

"Gandalf and Aragorn renew their hunt for Gollum at intervals during the next eight years, searching in the vales of Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion to the confines of Mordor," The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age reads. "At some time during these years, Gollum himself ventured into Mordor, and was captured by Sauron."

The Hunt for Gollum debuted at the Sci-Fi-London Film Festival and online back in May 2009 and currently has more than 13 million views. There are no details yet of what the Andy Serkis-helmed Gollum-centric movie has in store, but it's possible it could be similar to the fan film.