Culture news The next Lord of the Rings film is making waves: Peter Jackson reveals the plot of The Hunt for Gollum

Culture news The next Lord of the Rings film is the talk of the town: Peter Jackson reveals the plot of The Hunt for Gollum

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Lord of the Rings fans will soon have something to eat

It’s good to be a Lord of the Rings fan right now. While Peter Jackson’s trilogy from the 2000s is still considered one of the best sagas of all time, the Lord of the Rings franchise has not been widely exploited on the big or small screen. Outside of films The Hobbit (with less consensual quality), we had to wait until 2022 for spectators to be able to travel again to Middle-earth thanks to the Amazon Prime Video series The Rings of Power. Two years after this first return, the announcements ended up revealing a real 5-star menu.

Thus, from the end of August, fans will be able to discover the continuation of Galadriel’s adventures in the second season of Rings of Power. For those who were not very convinced by this production, two other alternatives have also emerged in the meantime. The first is none other than an animated film called The Lord Of The Rings: The War of Rohirrim whose release is still scheduled for December 11. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know much about this project aside from its name and release date. Just a few days ago, however, another production has been revealedand its producers have since provided new information.

More details on the upcoming film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum

On May 10, Warner Bros. surprised everyone by announcing a new live-action film in the Lord of the Rings universe. Baptized The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, it should logically return to the iconic character accompanying Sam and Frodo against his will to the Mountain of Destiny to destroy the One Ring. Scheduled for release in 2026 in cinemas, this film will be directed by none other thanAndy Serkis (who plays Gollum in the films) and produced by Peter Jackson, among others. Recently, the producer and director of the first trilogy of films spoke about this new film thanks to an interview with our colleagues at Deadline :

The character of Gollum/Sméagol has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, while his Sméagol side is, undoubtedly, quite sympathetic. I think it connects with readers and moviegoers, because it has this dual side. We really want to explore his story and delve into the little-known parts of his journey. What we didn’t have time to do in the previous films. It’s too early to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we’ll take a cue from Professor Tolkien.

As one could imagine, the film The Hunt for Gollum will therefore focus on the character with the dual personality. If there was already a question of discovering some bits of his past in the original trilogy (notably thanks to the long version), this new film should therefore provide much more detail on the man previously called Sméagol and on how the One Ring corrupted his mind. Peter Jackson also made a point of praising the merits of Andy Serkis in the same interview:

Andy was very excited to work as second unit director on The Hobbit. He has the energy and the imagination and, above all, an inherent understanding of this history that is necessary to return to Middle-earth. We have collaborated on eight films together and each time it has been a fantastic experience. There is no one in this land better equipped to tackle the story of Gollum.

If the announcement of Serkis as director may have surprised people, everything seems to indicate that this choice is not really so trivial. The actor and director also recalled that he was very attached to Tolkien’s universe and that he had read all of the author’s books, including The Silmarillion. He thus promises that the film about Gollum will allow us to explore “his psychology (and) his madness” and to try “a totally new approach”. Philippa Boyens, one of the screenwriters of this new film, also took the opportunity to give some more plot details:

Gollum’s story is one of the most compelling in terms of character characterization. Gollum’s lifespan is longer than just the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He is a familiar character to everyone, but we will be able to go into the depths of his story.

You would have understood it, the creative team behind The Hunt for Gollum seems confident and the film’s potential looks quite exploitable. If you want to discover the first images or more details, you will however have to be patient since the film has just been announced and it is not expected before 2026. In the meantime, you can always fall back on The Rings of Power or on The War of Rohirrim.