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Draft:The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum

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Not to be confused with the 2009 fan film The Hunt for Gollum.
The Lord of the Rings:
The Hunt for Gollum
Directed byAndy Serkis
Screenplay by
Based onThe Lord of the Rings
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Produced by
Starring
  • Andy Serkis
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 2026 (2026)
Countries
  • United States
  • New Zealand
LanguageEnglish

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is an upcoming fantasy film directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou. It is based on the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) by J. R. R. Tolkien. Produced by New Line Cinema, the film is an expansion of producer Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) film trilogies. Serkis reprises his role as Gollum from the previous films.

Development of new films based on Tolkien's works was announced in February 2023, with Jackson and the team behind the previous films returning. The film's working title and Serkis's roles as director and star were revealed in May 2024. Writing had begun by then, with production based in Wellington, New Zealand, as with the previous films.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is intended to be released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2026.

Premise

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The Hunt for Gollum is set during the events of the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), between Bilbo Baggins's birthday party and the sequence where the Company of the Ring enters the Mines of Moria. It is told from the perspective of the creature Gollum.[1]

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced in February 2023 that the company had signed a new agreement with Embracer Group's Middle-earth Enterprises—who held the right to adapt J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55)—to develop multiple new The Lord of the Rings live-action films. This deal came after Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema produced two film trilogies, The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014), based on Tolkien's works, and while they were expanding the franchise to animation with the film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024). The films are separate from the television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present) which is produced by Amazon Studios.[4] Peter Jackson, the director and co-writer of the film trilogies, and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens said Warner Bros. and Embracer had kept them "in the loop" regarding the new deal and they were interested in hearing about the companies' plans,[5] following their frustration at not being involved with The Rings of Power.[6] Boyens said working on The War of the Rohirrim had reignited the group's passion for the world of Middle-earth and showed the potential for more stories to be told based on the appendices of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[3] The new agreement with Embracer was brokered by Warner Bros. Pictures CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who visited Jackson in New Zealand to re-establish the studio's relationship with him.[7] Industry insiders said Warner Bros. wanted to distance future films from The Rings of Power and would continue to tell stories set in Tolkien's Third Age, avoiding the Second Age time period that is explored in the series.[6]

Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum via motion capture in both film trilogies, was asked in March 2023 if he was interested in returning for future films. He said he would if Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens were also returning.[8] Around October of that year, the trio approached Serkis about him directing a new film focused on Gollum.[9] Serkis's directorial career began as a second unit director on the Hobbit films,[10] and he said the opportunity to direct this film was a "dream come true".[9] In May 2024, Zaslav announced that Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens were producing two new The Lord of the Rings films for Warner Bros. and New Line, the first of which had the working title The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and was intended to be released in 2026.[2][11] Serkis was set to direct the film and reprise his role as Gollum. Walsh and Boyens were in the early stages of writing the script with The War of the Rohirrim writers Phoebe Gittins, who is Boyens's daughter, and Arty Papageorgiou. Ken Kamins was executive producing with Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish of the Imaginarium Studios. Serkis said the new film was being produced with Wētā Workshop, Wētā FX, and others who worked on the film trilogies in New Zealand,[2][11] and the production was confirmed to again be based in Wellington; this was a relief for local filmmakers after production on The Rings of Power had been moved away from New Zealand.[12] Serkis described the film as "a deep dive where we investigate Gollum's character",[9] and added that it would be taking advantage of improvements in motion capture technology that Wētā FX had made with the Planet of the Apes and Avatar franchises since Jackson's films; Serkis worked with Wētā on the Planet of the Apes films portraying Caesar via motion capture.[3]

Based on the working title, the new film was expected by commentators to adapt material from the appendices covering the characters Gandalf and Aragorn hunting for Gollum during the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).[13][14] This was previously adapted into a fan film, The Hunt for Gollum, which was released on YouTube in 2009. The fan film was temporarily taken down by a Warner Bros. copyright claim the day after the new film's announcement, which the studio said had been done in error.[13] Serkis said it was too early in the writing process to confirm whether any other actors would be reprising their roles from the previous films.[3] Over the following months, several actors expressed interest in returning from Jackson's films: Viggo Mortenson (Aragorn),[15] Ian McKellen (Gandalf),[16] Cate Blanchett (Galadriel),[17] and Orlando Bloom (Legolas).[18] Hugo Weaving, in contrast, said he was not interested in reprising his role as Elrond in future films.[19] In September, McKellen said the producers had confirmed to him that Gandalf would be in the film and they hoped McKellen would reprise his role.[20] Bloom had discussed the film with Serkis by then and said the filmmakers were considering using artificial intelligence to digitally de-age actors who returned from the previous films.[18] Comments made by McKellen led to speculation that The Hunt for Gollum was being split into two films. Boyens denied this in October, explaining that the second film would tell a different story that was yet to be determined. She confirmed that The Hunt for Gollum would be set during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and described it as "a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature [Gollum]".[1]

Release

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The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is intended to be released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2026.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Travis, Ben (October 18, 2024). "The Hunt For Gollum Won't Be Two Films, But A Second LOTR Film Is Incoming, Philippa Boyens Confirms". Empire. Archived from the original on October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Maas, Jennifer (May 9, 2024). "Warner Bros. to Release New 'Lord of the Rings' Movie 'The Hunt for Gollum' in 2026, Peter Jackson to Produce and Andy Serkis to Direct". Variety. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Fleming, Mike Jr (May 15, 2024). "Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis & Philippa Boyens Explain Why They're Returning To Middle-Earth For 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum' 23 Years After Cannes Saved The Billion Dollar Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 23, 2023). "More 'Lord Of The Rings' Movies In Works As Warner Bros & New Line Strike Rights Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  5. ^ Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (February 23, 2023). "New 'Lord of the Rings' Movies in the Works at Warners, New Line". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Hibberd, James (February 28, 2023). "'Lord of the Rings': Amazon, Warner Bros. Ready for Tolkien Battle". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Donnelly, Matt (June 14, 2023). "Can Warner Bros. Restore Its Movie Glory? Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy Want Christopher Nolan Back, Will Prioritize Theatrical and Take More Big Swings". Variety. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  8. ^ Sharf, Zack (March 10, 2023). "Andy Serkis Would 'Jump at the Chance' to Star in New 'Lord of the Rings' Movies, but Only With Peter Jackson: 'Middle-Earth Has Never Left Me'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Lapin-Bertone, Joshua (June 26, 2024). "Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum director/star Andy Serkis says title change may be coming, and so are some returning characters from the original trilogy". Popverse. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Blauvelt, Christian (May 9, 2024). "Andy Serkis Directing 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum' for Expected 2026 Release". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema are set to Reunite with the Oscar Winning "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" Team Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens for Two New Feature Films From J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth" (Press release). Burbank, California: Warner Bros. Discovery. May 9, 2024. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Hickman, Bill (May 10, 2024). "Revealed: Lord of the Rings movies production hub to be in Wellington". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Hibberd, James (May 10, 2024). "Warners Allows Fan-Made 'Lord of the Rings' Movie to Stay on YouTube". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Harrisson, Juliette (May 9, 2024). "Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum Is a Great Choice for a Spinoff Movie". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Sharf, Zack (May 30, 2024). "Viggo Mortensen Asked Peter Jackson if He Could Use Aragorn's Sword in a New Movie, Says He'd Star in New 'Lord of the Rings' Movie Only 'If I Was Right for the Character'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  16. ^ Maxwell, Dominic (June 8, 2024). "Ian McKellen: 'When a script arrives, I think this might be my last job'". The Times. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "Cate Blanchett says she would return as Galadriel for Lord Of The Rings spin-off". Peeblesshire News. June 30, 2024. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Shanfeld, Ethan (September 6, 2024). "Orlando Bloom Spoke to Director Andy Serkis About New 'Lord of the Rings' Movies and Wants to Return: If Peter Jackson 'Says Jump, I Say How High'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Murray, Emily (October 9, 2024). "Lord of the Rings star Hugo Weaving says he's "had enough" of Middle-earth and has "absolutely no desires" to reprise the role of Elrond as new movies are announced". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Barker, James (September 1, 2024). "Ian McKellen: 'They better be quick if they want me to play Gandalf again!'". The Big Issue. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
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