Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis clarify why they’re returning to Middle-earth for Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

As the Lord of the Rings franchise has pulled in almost $6 billion over the course of six films, it was solely pure that Warner Bros. would return to the effectively. That’s why it didn’t come as an enormous shock when it was introduced that extra Lord of the Rings films are in improvement, the primary of which will likely be Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

In addition to reprising his function as Gollum, Andy Serkis is ready to direct The Hunt for Gollum, which will likely be written by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and produced by Peter Jackson. As for why the OG Lord of the Rings crew has determined to return to Middle-earth, Jackson advised Deadline that though we noticed a few of Gollum’s backstory within the earlier six films, there’s nonetheless quite a lot of story to be advised.

“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 stated. “I believe he connects with readers and movie audiences alike, as a result of there’s somewhat little bit of each of them in all of us. We actually need to discover his backstory and delve into these components of his journey we didn’t have time to cowl within the earlier movies. It’s too quickly to know who will cross his path, however suffice to say we’ll take our lead from Professor Tolkien.“

After directing the earlier six movies within the franchise, passing the reigns to Serkis was a no brainer for Jackson. “Andy was a joy to work with directing Second Unit on The Hobbit,” Jackson stated. “He has the vitality and creativeness and, most significantly, an inherent understanding of the world of the story that’s wanted to step again into Middle-earth. We have collaborated on eight movies collectively and every time it has been a unbelievable expertise. There’s nobody on this earth higher outfitted to sort out Gollum’s story than Andy.“

As for Serkis, he stated he was “absolutely floored” when he obtained the decision to direct The Hunt for Gollum. “They have done this to me before, and this had the same effect as when I got the call telling me I was going to direct second unit on The Hobbit,” he stated. “I’m very honored that they’ve requested me to return again. I actually am. I really like them as filmmakers as a result of they’re trustworthy. They all the time go for the reality. They are probably the most hardworking folks on the planet, and their search for excellence by no means ends, and now I get to assist attain that bar once more. It was Philippa who first referred to as me really and stated, look, that is what we’re considering. And I used to be simply flushed with a form of, oh my God, I’m going again in there. Yeah, it was a terrific second.“

Motion-capture expertise has superior fairly a bit for the reason that early days of Lord of the Rings, and Serkis plans to take full benefit of it. “At that time, the motion capture technology back then was pretty much restricted to interior sets and it was just motion capture at that time,” Serkis stated. “It really has now reached a level where the authorship of the performances…allows you to actually internalize more without any sense of overacting, or the closeup is the detail within a closeup when you’re being very still. This is something that is clearly working at a much greater and a deeper level now.” Serkis additionally teased that appearances from Lord of the Rings actors are a chance.

That’s a tough query to reply proper at this second in time, as a result of we’re actually within the nascent phases of what it’s precisely the place we’re doing, and the place the story’s going to take us. So I don’t need to commit something proper now. I imply, as a result of it’s so uncooked and so uncooked and wriggling, and we’re simply actually having very early state script discussions and concepts of precisely the place and the way we’re going to drop anchor with the character and his journey and the way he’s or comes into contact with different characters, and the characters that we all know and don’t know. So nonetheless, I’d hate to say something that’s going to commit us at this level, as a result of it’s actually all up for grabs.

Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is ready for a 2026 launch.