We recently learned of plans for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new entry to the big screen franchise which will star and be directed by Andy Serkis.
Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, who wrote the previous movies, will pen the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). Filmmaker Peter Jackson, meanwhile, is set to produce the project.
In a lengthy interview with Deadline, the latter elaborated on why Gollum's origin story was the right focus for this spin-off/prequel.
"The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic," Jackson said. "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."
"Andy was a joy to work with directing Second Unit on The Hobbit," the director continued. "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."
Boyens adds, "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."
The trade also caught up with Serkis to get his thoughts on why he wanted to not only return to one of his most famous roles but also step behind the camera to tell this story as a director (after previously helming Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Venom: Let There Be Carnage).
"Gollum has always stuck with me throughout all of these years," Serkis admits. "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 Gollum's psychology," he enthused. "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."
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released in theaters in 2026.