Ian McKellen sent “Lord of the Rings” fans into a tizzy earlier this year when he teased that the upcoming movie, “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” would actually be two films. Not so fast. Philippa Boyens, the screenwriter who worked on Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, has confirmed to Empire magazine that “The Hunt for Gollum” is one movie. However, more live-action “Rings” movies could be on the way beyond that.
“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films!” Boyens said. “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.”
Boyens is writing “The Hunt for Gollum” with longtime “Rings” collaborators Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. She called the new movie “quite an intense story” that “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.”
Andy Serkis, who played Gollum via motion capture in Jackson’s trilogies, is directing “The Hunt for Gollum.” Original “Rings” cast members like Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) have all expressed interest in returning for the new film should the story make sense for their characters to appear. According to Boyens, the future for “Rings” movies beyond “The Hunt for Gollum” is most likely with Gandalf.
“We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf,” Boyens said about the future. “So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films.”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” was announced in May with Jackson producing alongside Boyens and Walsh. The film is being planned for a 2026 theatrical release from Warner Bros. and New Line.
From Variety US