The series, consisting of seven episodes, will debut on Apple TV+ on July 19 with the first two episodes
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| Image Credit: New Line Cinema |
After the exciting announcement of the return of The Lord of the Rings to the cinema with The Hunt of Gollum, Peter Jackson, the genius behind the six live-action films in the series, has finally broken his silence regarding the next project. The Hunt for Gollum will explore Gollum's past that The Lord of the Rings didn't have time to explore.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Jackson shared his take on why Gollum was the obvious choice to kick off a new film series and expressed his excitement at the prospect of working with Andy Serkis again. Serkis, in fact, played the role of Gollum in both the original Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and will direct and star in The Hunt for Gollum. While there were many characters he could have focused on for the next live-action Lord of the Rings film, Gollum was the natural choice for Jackson. The director explained what pushed him to choose Gollum over other iconic characters such as Aragorn, Legolas, or Gandalf:
“The character of Gollum/Sméagol has always fascinated me because it reflects the worst of human nature, but also a more sympathetic side. I think it resonates with both readers and movie audiences because there's a little bit of both in all of us. We really want to explore his past and delve into those parts of his journey that we haven't had time to cover in the previous films. It's too early to know who will cross his path, but suffice it to say that we will take inspiration from Professor Tolkien." Andy Serkis, known for his motion capture performances in the roles of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Caesar, and Snoke, has proven himself to be an unrivaled talent in portraying complex and iconic characters. Although more than ten years have passed since he last played Gollum, Jackson is convinced that Serkis is the only one capable of bringing the character to life:
“It was a joy to work with Andy on Part Two of The Hobbit. He has the energy, the imagination, and, above all, an intrinsic understanding of the world and history necessary to return to Middle-earth. We collaborated on eight films together and each time it was a fantastic experience. There is no one on this earth better equipped to tackle the story of Gollum than Andy.” Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Jackson's original collaborators, were commissioned to write the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgious. Jackson will not return as a screenwriter but will continue to be involved in every step of the production process.
Source: Collider