re: WB to Release First New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ in 2026

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Why would Sauron release Gollum? He ended up leading the Ring back to Mount Doom

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He set him loose to go find the Ring for him, because the second Gollum does find the Ring, he will put it on and alert Sauron and the Nazgûl to his presence. Gollum was also connected to the Ring for so long that he could sense its evil presence, which is what attracted Gollum to Mordor sensing Sauron’s evil rising again and mistaking it for the Ring itself.

It never remotely occurred to Sauron that Gollum would dare return to Mordor on his own or that the Free Races would try to destroy the Ring. Gollum does not seem like a likely guide regardless, but in the end, Sauron is largely killed by his own arrogance.