On May 9, Warner Bros. announced the return of The Lord of the Rings to theaters in live-action The Hunt for Gollum! The film will be directed by Andy Serkis himself, who plays Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy.
Gollum returns
For the occasion, the actor will once again slip into his stage costume to portray the famous character who accompanied Sam and Frodo to Mordor. If Andy Serkis is involved, Peter Jackson will also produce.
His Lord of the Rings and Hobbit co-stars Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will write the screenplay alongside Phoebe Gittins and Artie Papageorgiou. Suffice to say, The Hunt for Gollum is in good hands. A recent interview DeadlinePeter Jackson, Andy Serkis and Philippa Boyens have shared some details about their vision for The Hunt for Gollum.
“The character of Gollum/Sméagol has always fascinated me; Gollum represents the worst of human nature, and the Smeagol side of him is, without a doubt, quite sympathetic. I think it’s this dual aspect that resonates with readers and viewers, we all have a little bit of both in us.”Peter Jackson emphasizes.
Gollum represents the worst of human nature, while his Sméagol side is undoubtedly quite compassionate.
“We really want to explore and delve into his story, delve into the lesser-known parts of his journey that we haven’t had the chance to do in the previous films. It’s too early to know who will cross his path, but suffice it to say, we’ll be taking Professor Tolkien“specified by the director.
Andy Serkis, Man for the Job
Peter Jackson then reveals that Andy Serkis was very happy to work on directing the second part of The Hobbit. So it makes sense that he controls the project around Gollum’s story.
“He has the energy, the imagination and above all the deep understanding of this story that is necessary to bring it back to Middle-earth. We have collaborated on 8 films and each time it has been a fantastic experience. He is the best equipped man on earth to handle the story of Gollum.”– the producer appreciates.
For his part, Andy Serkis also took the floor to discuss his participation as The Hunt for Gollum. “The character has always followed me over the years. I’ve read all the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion books. So I’m very familiar with Tolkien’s world; he’s never left since we made the first films.”he explained.
“So it’s absolutely exciting to be able to go back and immerse ourselves in the world of Gollum. We’re going to explore his psychology and try to make a film that has its place in The Lord of the Rings, but that also brings something new with a completely new approach.” “– clarified Andy Serkis.
The performance revolution is taking over
The latter also spoke about performance photography, which underwent a real revolution after the first Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to the director, at that time the technology was still limited and did not allow to accurately capture facial expressions, it was only motion capture.
from ” planet of the apes, the technology enables true “performance capture”; Gollum’s face in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was fully animated, just copying my facial expressions, but it wasn’t performance capture; The delicacy and nuance of expressions is now possible using sensors and cameras on the face.”Andy Serkis cheers.
The director and actor also praise Weta Digital for revolutionizing the technique, especially on the Planet of the Apes saga and James Cameron’s Avatar. For Serkis, this allows him to add much more depth to his performance and thus achieve a hyper-directed result in post-production.
He is a familiar character to everyone, but we will be able to get into the depth of his story.
In addition, screenwriter Philippa Boyens noted that Gollum’s story was one of the most compelling in terms of character characterization. “Gollum’s life is longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he’s a familiar character, but we’ll be able to delve into the depths of his story.”she said.
Will these words be enough to appease the fans? In the meantime, they’ll be able to return to Middle-earth starting August 29 on Prime Video with Rings of Power Season 2. As for War of the Rohirrim, the animated film set in the Lord of the Rings universe, it will hit theaters on December 11. As for the hunt for Gollum, you’ll have to wait until 2026 at best.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
