Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to expand The Lord of the Rings franchise with spin-offs like The Hunt for Gollum and Shadow of the Past. Drawing inspiration from author J.R.R. Tolkien's work, the idea is to visit new corners of Middle-earth and fill in some gaps in its sweeping timeline.
Andy Serkis will be at the helm of The Hunt for Gollum, a movie which will also see him reprise one of his most iconic roles as the titular character. Filming is underway in New Zealand, and the actor and filmmaker has assembled an impressive cast that includes Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, Jamie Dornan, and Leo Woodall.
There have been complaints online about a lack of diversity in the cast, as it's so far made up solely of white actors. While Serkis has long campaigned for equality in Hollywood—he previously said that his time starring in Black Panther helped him better understand how it feels to be in the minority on a film set—he stands by how The Hunt for Gollum's cast is shaping up.
"Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology; there’s a lot of that feeling. The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know..." Serkis trailed off in an interview with the BBC, adding, "They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in."
"Yes, there have been criticisms," he said of the lack of diversity in Tolkien's Middle-earth. "This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But we don’t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant basically."
Serkis, who is currently doing the rounds to discuss the release of Animal Farm in the UK, went on to say that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum "sits absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, and books in fact."
"It is very much a deep dive into the psychology and history of Gollum before he became Gollum, but also with a very burning question from Gandalf about what the potential origin of this ring that Bilbo Baggins has is," he continued. "The hunt takes place in two different dimensions really and that’s about as far as I can say at the moment."
Stephen Colbert is writing The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, which serves as a sequel to the original trilogy. However, Serkis has now put an end to speculation that he'll also step behind the camera to take charge of that story, too.
"I think that that post has been taken, put it that way," he noted. "That’s going to be a fascinating story too. I know it’s something that Stephen’s very, very excited about being part of."
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum stars Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Lee Pace as Thranduil, Jamie Dornan as Strider, a.k.a. Aragorn, Leo Woodall as Halvard, and Kate Winslet as Marigol.
The story delves into Gollum's past, back in a time when he was known as a young Stoorish lad called Sméagol.
Serkis will direct the movie. Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, who wrote The Lord of the Rings trilogy, are penning the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson, meanwhile, is producing the project.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in theaters on December 17, 2027.