It is also reported that not only Ian McKellen, but also Orlando Bloom (Legolas) previously agreed to star in “The Hunt for Gollum.”
Photo: still from the film.
In fact, news that Hollywood was putting “The Hunt for Gollum” into production broke in May. It is known that the film will be produced by the same team that worked on the three parts The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson. But Jackson himself won’t be directing the film this time; will be done by Andy Serkis, who, in fact, originally played Gollum. Since then, he’s already tried his hand at directing several times (Venom 2 was his most notable film, though clearly not his best).
But in May they started talking about two films about Gollum. Now Philippa Boyens, co-writer of all of Jackson’s Tolkien projects, has said this is the result of “a real misunderstanding.” There will only be one movie about Gollum. At the same time, Boyens and the company are working on another film. But he can’t say anything about it yet (in fact, it’s not even very clear how this project relates to Tolkien’s books), hence the confusion.
Of The Hunt for Gollum, Boyens says: “It is a very intense story, set between Bilbo’s birthday and the episodes of the Moria mines. This is a special fragment of an incredible and yet untold story, where the narrative is told from the point of view of this incredible creature” (i.e. Gollum. – Ed.)
The culprit of the confusion between both films was the actor Ian McKellen: he decided that The Hunt for Gollum would become a duology and he said so in an interview. But Boyens understands why: “We are developing several ideas, and most of them involve Gandalf. So, in theory, he could return for two more films.” Empire adds that an anime called War of the Rohirrim, which Boyens wrote and produced, will be out in December, and if it’s a success, more animated Middle-earth projects will follow.
It is also reported that not only Ian McKellen, but also Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) previously agreed to star in “The Hunt for Gollum,” “if the plot justifies the appearance of their characters.”
