After spending years away from Middle-earth, Warner Bros. is getting ready to dive deep into the works of J.R.R. Tolkien with more “Lord of the Rings” movies in the coming years. Yes, movies plural here. These films are not going to be a remake of Peter Jackson’s original trilogy, nor will they be a redo of “The Hobbit.” For starters, we’re getting a new “Lord of the Rings” movie titled “The Hunt for Gollum” that we first learned about earlier this year. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Jackson’s previous films, is going to be in the director’s chair for this one. In this case, one is actually a keyword as “The Hunt for Gollum” will indeed just be one film, as opposed to two.
Speaking with Empire, Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogy co-writer Philippa Boyens clarified that while there are two different “LOTR” movies in the works, the other one is a completely different project not connected to “The Hunt for Gollum.” Here’s what she had to say about it:
“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films! That was a genuine misunderstanding that happened because we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films. The first being ‘The Hunt For Gollum,’ the second one still to be confirmed.”
Some confusion sprang up when Gandalf actor Ian McKellen suggested “The Hunt for Gollum” was going to be two films. Turns out, he was only half right, though it’s not entirely difficult to see where the confusion came from. Still, this all does open up a host of new questions regarding the future of the franchise.
What other Lord of the Rings stories are there to tell?
As for the confusion? “We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf,” Boyens also explained in the interview. “So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films.” Hence, McKellen has certainly been in contact with Jackson, Warner Bros., Boyens, and presumably Serkis.
When it comes to what this other movie could possibly be, that’s a matter of pure speculation right now. Warner Bros. also has the animated “War of the Rohirrim” hitting theaters in December, which is another instance of a small portion of Tolkien’s writing being turned into a feature-length story. Boyens, speaking further, offered some details regarding when “The Hunt for Gollum” takes place, which offers some clues as to how the franchise is being approached at this point:
“It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria. It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”
So, “The Hunt for Gollum” could best be described as an in-between-quel, i.e. a film that takes place between “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers.” Basically, it sounds like the property’s creatives are going to be working in the margins, filling in perceived gaps in the story of Middle-earth. As for why? Because “The Fellowship of the Ring” was a hit that paved the way for a $5.8 billion franchise. These are some of the biggest movies in history. Even Jackson’s “Hobbit” films, which were not nearly as well-received as his “LOTR” trilogy, all made bank. Warner Bros. has every motivation to see if it can squeeze more out of this world, for better or worse.
“The Hunt for Gollum” does not currently have an official release date, but is tentatively projected to arrive in 2026.
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