Ian McKellen had previously stated that Andy Serkis’ upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum” would be split into two films. It turns out he misspoke.
What he meant to say is that another new live-action ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie is in the works. ‘The Hunt For Gollum’ won’t be split into two films, despite previous reports. Instead, they are developing another LOTR movie at the same time.
This was confirmed by screenwriter Philippa Boyen who says that she is working on both films, and that they would definitely include characters from the original trilogy (via Empire Magazine]:
I can tell you definitively [‘The Hunt For Gollum’] 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.
Boyen also confirms that ‘Gollum’ takes place “right after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria,” she explains. “It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”
Gandalf would “potentially return for two live-action films,” according to Boyen.
If you’re wondering exactly how Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom can possibly come back, all of whom have aged by 20 years, then Serkis seems to have found an answer to the problem, and it might turn out to be very controversial.
It was recently reported that Serkis might be going the ‘Irishman’ route with his LOTR actors. Bloom told Variety that he’d spoken to Serkis about the upcoming film, and that he was told there are potential plans to de-age the actors by using AI technology.