Many are skeptical about Andy Serkis’ “The Hunt for Gollum.” There are a few red flags related to this project, but Peter Jackson believes in it — at least that’s what I gathered from this new interview with IndieWire.
In fact, Jackson said he and longtime partner Fran Walsh found inspiration from an unusual source to bring “The Hunt for Gollum” to life.
“We were thinking about the original ‘Joker’ film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix,” Jackson said. “The way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story. We’ve got the story that’s in the appendices, and we’ll tell that story, but we’ll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective.”
As for the main reason why Jackson isn’t directing “Gollum,” but rather “Animal Farm” helmer Andy Serkis, Jackson isn’t so worried.
“I thought the film would be more interesting if Andy did it,” he said. “I honestly, truly believe that if it’s a film about Gollum’s addiction and internal struggles, Andy would make a much more interesting film than me. If I thought I’d do a better film, I’d do it. But I thought, there’s a guy that’s going to make a really interesting film here, and it’s not me.”
I’ll give Jackson the benefit of the doubt on this one, but Serkis remains a fiery point of contention. Somehow, Warner Bros. gave the green light to Serkis’ expensive “The Hunt for Gollum,” rumored to cost well over $200 million, and that was before his upcoming “Animal Farm” had its trailer openly mocked online and was later trashed by critics. In fact, Serkis’ directing work, which includes “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” doesn’t give one much hope that “Gollum” will turn out great. Here’s hoping I’m proven wrong.
“The Hunt for Gollum” is set during “The Fellowship of the Ring” era, shortly before Frodo Baggins leaves the Shire for Rivendell. The film starts with Gandalf sending Aragorn on a quest to find Gollum. McKellen, Wood, and company — all of whom have aged by 20 years — will be touched up with AI technology and digital makeup.
Production is set to begin later this month in New Zealand, with a December 17, 2027 release already planned via New Line/Warner Bros.
The timing is interesting. Just days ago, on September 21, journalist Caleb Williams posted on X that a director had been found for the Kinberg trilogy. Turns out, Watts might be the guy.