New Lord Of The Rings Movie Confirmed And Bringing Back Beloved Star
Lord of the Rings fans rejoice: the legendary director Peter Jackson is making yet another entry into the iconic franchise. This time, however, the upcoming releases will focus entirely on the search for Gollum—who was depicted by Andy Serkis in the movies. The search for Gollum is an event that was mentioned in the Fellowship of the Ring book.
The Announcement
The news arrived following Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, when CEO David Zaslav said that the company is currently preparing a new Lord of the Rings movie, with the script in the early stages of development. According to Zaslav, the upcoming movie won’t be released before 2026 if everything goes according to plan, and the overarching narrative will explore storylines that are yet to be told. Actor Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in the original trilogy and The Hobbit, is set to reprise his role and direct the upcoming release.
The Deal
The new deal covers two additional films in the Lord of the Rings franchise, the first of which will be called Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. This is, of course, a working title; we still don’t know anything about the movie—apart from Andy Serkis’ involvement—nor how the hunt for Gollum will be framed, considering that the character was hunted twice before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring—once by the Dark Lord, and the second time by Aragorn, as part of Gandalf’s investigation into Gollum’s whereabouts.
Whose Perspective?
Also, would the narrative unfold through Gollum’s perspective of being hunted or from Aragorn and other characters’ perspectives of those actually inquiring about where Smeagol is and what he is up to? For those who aren’t as intimately acquainted with Lord of the Rings books, Gollum was first captured by the Dark Lord Sauron in Mordor, around the year 3017 of the Third Age, and his torture at the hands of orcs was briefly depicted in The Fellowship of the Ring movie from 2001 when he revealed to the Dark Lord that the Ring is in the Shire.
Gollum’s Travels
However, following his escape or release from Mordor, Gollum wandered for a time, which eventually led to his capture by Aragorn, which took place in 3018 of the Third Age—so, about a year after Gollum’s encounter with the Dark Lord. This sequence of events is what set the urgency and danger surrounding the whereabouts and knowledge of the One Ring, as described in the novel and subsequent movies. Considering that Andy Serkis is attached to the project, it’s pretty much confirmed that Gollum is going to be quite prominent on-screen through motion capture and CGI.
Other Creators
On top of Andy Serkis directing the upcoming movie, Peter Jackson will be working with his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to bring the new Lord of the Rings movies to life, and their involvement in the project is certainly going to calm any concerns the loyal LotR fandom has.
