Hunt for Gollum to bring Serkis back; Aragorn may be recast

Movieweb reports that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be directed by Andy Serkis, who will once again portray Gollum, and that the film is set within The Fellowship of the Ring timeline; Ian McKellen told attendees at London's 'For the Love of Fantasy' event he "hear[s] it's going to start filming in May." Philippa Boyens, returning to the writing team with Fran Walsh, described the project as "an adventure story with a really strong psychological, interior story that's going on as well." Producers include Peter Jackson, Boyens and Walsh, and Boyens praised Serkis's ability to resume the motion-capture role after 25 years, recalling on the mo-cap stage, "Right, assume the position," and asking, "Can you start aging?" McKellen also teased that characters called Frodo and Gandalf will appear.

Casting for Aragorn remains uncertain. The report says it looks as though Viggo Mortensen may not return, although he has said he might if the story worked for him. Boyens has said any return would be "entirely going to be up to Viggo," noting discussions with Mortensen and that the production is considering digital make-up over AI and that Mortensen does not yet have a script.

Key Topics

Culture, Andy Serkis, Gollum, Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen, Ian Mckellen