After playing Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, Andy Serkis will replay the cult character in a film that he will direct himself. He explains his intentions alongside Peter Jackson, who will be producer.
On May 9, Warner Bros. announced the return of Lord of the Rings in live action to the cinema with 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 performance capture costume to play the famous character who accompanied Sam and Frodo to Mordor. If Andy Serkis is involved, Peter Jackson will also be involved as producer.
His accomplices on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, will write the screenplay with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Suffice to say that Hunt for Gollum is in good hands. Recently interviewed by DeadlinePeter Jackson, Andy Serkis and Philippa Boyens gave some details about their vision for The Hunt for Gollum.
“The character of Gollum/Sméagol has always fascinated me; Gollum reflects the worst of human nature while his Sméagol side is, without doubt, quite sympathetic. I think he touches readers and spectators thanks to this double facet , we all have a little bit of both in us”underlines Peter Jackson.
Gollum reflects the worst of human nature while his Sméagol side is, undoubtedly, quite sympathetic.
“We really want to explore and delve deeper into his story, delving into the lesser-known parts of his journey, which we haven’t had time to do in the previous films. It’s too early to know who will cross his path, but suffice it to say that we will take an example from the professor Tolkien“specifies the director.
Andy Serkis, man for the job
Peter Jackson then reveals that Andy Serkis was very happy to work as second unit director on The Hobbit. It is therefore logical to see him take control of the project around the story of Gollum.
“He has the energy, the imagination, and above all, a deep understanding of this history that is necessary to return to Middle-earth. We have collaborated on 8 films and each time it has been a fantastic experience. He is the best equipped person on this Earth to tackle the story of Gollum”estimates the producer.
For his part, Andy Serkis also took the floor to discuss his involvement as director of The Hunt for Gollum. “The character has always followed me throughout these years. I have read all the books, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. So I know Tolkien’s universe perfectly; he never left since we shot the first films.”he explained.
“So it’s absolutely exciting to be able to go back and immerse ourselves in Gollum’s world. We’re going to study his psychology, and we’re going to try to make a film that will have its place in the ‘canon’ Lord of the Rings universe, but which will also bring something fresh with a completely new approach”specified Andy Serkis.
The performance revolution captures
The latter also spoke about performance capture, which has undergone a real revolution since the first Lord of the Rings trilogy. The technology was still limited at the time, according to the filmmaker, and did not allow facial expressions to be accurately captured, it was only motion capture.
“From The Planet of the Apes, the technology allows true ‘performance capture’; in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gollum’s face was fully animated, just copying my facial expressions But this wasn’t performance capture; the delicacy and nuance of expressions can now be captured using sensors and cameras on the face.”rejoices Andy Serkis.
The director and actor also praises Weta Digital, which revolutionized this technique, notably on the Planet of the Apes saga and James Cameron’s Avatar. For Serkis, this allows him to bring much more depth to his game and thus obtain a hyper directorial result after post-production.
He is a familiar character to everyone, but we will be able to go into the depths of his story.
Furthermore, screenwriter Philippa Boyens indicated that Gollum’s story was one of the most compelling in terms of character characterization. “Gollum’s lifespan is longer than just the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He’s a familiar character to everyone, but we’ll be able to delve into the depths of his story”she said.
Will these words be enough to reassure fans? In the meantime, they will be able to return to Middle-earth from August 29 on Prime Video with season 2 of Rings of Power. As for The War of the Rohirrim, an animated film set in the Lord of the Rings universe, it will be released in theaters on December 11. As for The Hunt for Gollum, you will have to wait until 2026, at best.