Well, it looks like we’re heading back to Middle Earth… and it’s not with the Rings of Power.
Warners have announced that a new batch of live-action movies are coming and they will focus on Gollum, once again to be motion-captured by Andy Serkis, but that’s not all as – all you Lord of the Rings fans can swoon suitably – Director of the previous six LotR movies Peter Jackson will be producing along with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and will, according to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, “be involved every step of the way”.
As of now, the movie is called Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and will be directed this time out by Serkis.
As well as this, we are getting the animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimthis Christmas from director Kenji Kamiyama and it is a prequel, taking place 200 years before The Hobbit.
Studio leaders Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy said: “For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision.
“We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct ‘Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,’ we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ cinematic history.”
Peter Jackson said of the return: “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker — Gollum! As lifelong fans of Professor [JRR] Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Serkis said that the return to New Zealand/Middle Earth was “just all too delicious…”
Jackson went on: “The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic.
“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.”
Serkis said of teaming up with the filmmakers again: “I’m very honored that they’ve asked me to come back. I really am. I love them as filmmakers because they are honest. They always go for the truth.”
He goes on: “This film has to work in its own way. And that’s our job. That’s what we are going to have to be able to do. I know there’s plenty of people out there who will be like, oh no, why are they doing this? Why are they going back in? Well, that’s our job, to prove why we think that it’s a good idea.
“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. Because I can tell you, and people might not believe this, but we had zero expectations of going back to this. It wasn’t something we were looking to do, particularly. So when the question was asked, it was, what would draw you back? And it was about working with the people we we’re working with. It just felt right.”
While Lord of the Rings was never really something that grabbed me – sorry – it’s hard not to feel enthusisatic about this return, especially when it’s from people that made three movies (the Hobbit movies, not quite so much) that fans adore and treat the source material with such reverence.
I hope this turns out to be a winner for fans and filmmakers alike.
Thoughts? I wanna hear them…
WATCH: Teaser arrives for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2
Source: Deadline
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments