Peter Jackson is set to produce The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum for Warner Bros. and joining him on this creative journey is director Andy Serkis and writer and producers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh.
This is certainly an exciting project, especially with the creative team behind the original films involved in bringing this story to life.
During an interview with Deadline, Jackson opened up about the story they are looking to tell offering some insight on why they wanted to tell this tragic story of Gollum.
Jackson explained: “The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic.
“I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there’s a little bit of both of them in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films.
“It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.”
The filmmaker went on to talk about bringing Serkis on board to direct the film, saying: “Andy was a joy to work with directing Second Unit on The Hobbit. He has the energy and imagination and, most importantly, an inherent understanding of the world of the story that is needed to step back into Middle-earth.
“We have collaborated on eight films together and each time it has been a fantastic experience. There’s no one in this earth better equipped to tackle Gollum’s story than Andy.”
Walsh and Boyens are writing the script for the movie with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, who also scripted the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
Boyens also talked about why she is excited to tell this story about Gollum, saying: “Gollum’s story is one of the most compelling to us in terms of a character that we couldn’t go as deeply into as we wanted to before, which sounds strange when you say that, given how familiar he is to everybody.
“Gollum’s life span takes place in such an interesting period of Middle-earth. When the question was first asked, this was the first story we thought of. Because I can tell you, and people might not believe this, but we had zero expectations of going back to this.”
What did draw them back in the opportunity to work with Warner Bros. and the executives they worked with on the original Middle Earth films.
She also talked about having Serkis direct the movie: “Pete has always admired Andy’s abilities as a director. That’s why he asked him to shoot his second unit. It was kind of a no brainer. It was never about, why Andy? It was like, please, God, let Andy say yes.
“We wanted him to tell the story of Gollum and the hunt for Gollum as soon as we decided, okay, that’s the story. And Pete knew he didn’t want to direct go back into the world of Middle-earth again. [Peter] really enjoyed working with Kenji Kamiyama, who directed War of the Rohirrim.
“As soon as Pete decided, okay, I’m not going to direct it myself, and it’s going to be Gollum’s story, I swear to God, there was no one else but Andy Serkis.”
“There’s nobody else you can think of who knows what goes into that character and we know what he brings to it and brings to the whole world of Middle-earth. Andy is going to have a really interesting take. It’s going to be his own take, because what we don’t want this film to be is just the fourth film in the trilogy.
“This film has to work in its own way. And that’s our job. That’s what we are going to have to be able to do. I know there’s plenty of people out there who will be like, oh no, why are they doing this? Why are they going back in? Well, that’s our job, to prove why we think that it’s a good idea.”
Andy Serkis also discussed the opportunity he has been given to direct The Hunt For Gollum, sharing: “I’m very honored that they’ve asked me to come back. I really am. I love them as filmmakers because they are honest. They always go for the truth.
“They are the most hardworking people on the planet, and their search for excellence never ends, and now I get to help reach that bar again. It was Philippa who first called me actually and said, look, this is what we’re thinking. And I was just flushed with a sort of, oh my God, I’m going back in there. Yeah, it was a terrific moment.”
Serkis went on to talk about how Gollum is the character that most defines him: “Gollum has always stuck with me throughout all of these years. I’ve read audio books of the trilogy and the Silmarillion and The Hobbit, so Tolkien’s world has never left me in all of that time since we did the first films.
“And the character particularly has remained such an enormous part of my life. So it’s absolutely thrilling to be able to go back and do a deep dive into his world again, and specifically into Gotham’s psychology.
“I know we’re all interested in investigating on a deeper level who that character is, and on top of that, to be able to direct and hopefully create a film which has its place within the canon, but also something that’s fresh and new and a different approach.”
It’s great to see everyone so excited about this story of Gollum that they want to tell. I’m excited to see how it turns out! The movie is set to be released in 2026.
What are your thoughts on the direction they are looking to take the story?
