In the early 2000s, the shadow of Mordor loomed large as Peter Jackson’ The Lord of the Rings trilogy reigned supreme. However, Sauron’s age of terror was put to bed at the Battle of the Black Gate, catapulting the likes of Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, to superstardom (after he cast the One Ring into the flames of Mount Doom, of course). Middle-earth is, once more, on everyone’s lips. Prime Video has only recently aired the second season of The Rings of Power and Warner Bros. are interested in developing a new set of Lord of the Rings movies, beginning with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. . An idea that has Wood truly excited.
“I am excited,” Wood says to Inverse while promoting his upcoming comedy adventure film Bookworm. “I am obviously a fan of the creative team. I’m invested because it is the same creative team behind Lord of the Rings.” The upcoming adventure in The Hunt for Gollum is being produced by Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, individuals who were all involved in Jackson’s original Oscar-winning trilogy. “It’s revisiting that character, giving Andy a movie to direct… There’s no better person to shepherd that particular movie than the person who really created that character and knows that character through and through,” Wood says. “It just feels like getting the band back together in a really cool way for a really unique piece.”
Earlier in the year, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that a new Lord of the Rings project is in the works. With a working title of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum as its guide, Andy Serkis was brought onboard to direct the project, as well as to reprise his role as Gollum. While acknowledging The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, as “its own thing.” The actor declares faith in the project, given the caliber of hands its been committed into, saying:
“I think the idea of there being more films in that universe is only exciting if it’s being shepherded by Pete, Fran, and Philippa and the rest of their creative universe in New Zealand. When it comes to, and I think we’re all a little bit sensitive to this, this world of trying to make more films within a certain kind of franchise, there can be a degree of cynicism associated with it. There can be this sort of, ‘Oh, f***, are they going to mess the thing up that I love? Is it just this kind of cash grab to exploit a specific thing?’”
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Due to the timeline wherein the proposed films will be set, characters like Wood’s Frodo are not likely to make an appearance. However, characters such as Gandalf and Aragorn are key pieces in the timeline and their original stars, in Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, and Viggo Mortensen, who portrayed Aragorn, are open to returning. Wood on the other hand is eager to see what the future of the franchise brings. “Apparently, there’s going to be another couple of movies all telling new stories within that universe, adjacent to The Lord of the Rings.Honestly, there’s so many different stories they could tell, so I’m excited to see what comes of it.”
The world created by J.R.R. Tolkien is a wholly immersive one that leaves individuals seeking for more across the ages. Boyens, has spoken recently about the new batch of films, noting that beyond The Hunt For Gollum, there is a separate live-action feature that hasn’t been confirmed yet. “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,” the screenwriter confirmed.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum has yet to announce a release date. Follow Collider to keep up to date with the latest updates.
