The first photos from the New Zealand set of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum have been revealed (via SFFGazette.com), with a first look at filmmaker Andy Serkis, several Hobbits, The Shire's return, and a glimpse of Elijah Wood's Frodo Baggins from behind.
De-ageing technology will be used to make Wood and likely Sir Ian McKellen's Gandalf the Grey look as they did in Peter Jackson's original The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Serkis has previously addressed plans to make some of The Hunt for Gollum's leads appear younger in the movie. However, he came under fire over the summer for confirming that AI will be used in the de-ageing process.
"Not at present, other than some of the de-ageing," he said of the divisive technology's role in production. "There’s a little bit of de-ageing for some of the characters, and machine learning is part of the process."
Some roles have been recast, of course. Jamie Dornan, for example, is set to take over as Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen. He's expected to play a huge role in this story, and could return as Aragorn in future Middle-earth-set projects.
While Serkis has long campaigned for equality in Hollywood—he previously said that his time starring in Black Panther helped him better understand how it feels to be in the minority on a film set—he's been resolute with his casting decisions for The Hunt for Gollum, which some have pointed out is so far made up solely of white actors.
"Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology; there’s a lot of that feeling. The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know..." Serkis trailed off in an interview with the BBC before adding, "They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in."
"Yes, there have been criticisms," he said of the lack of diversity in Tolkien's Middle-earth. "This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But we don’t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant, basically."
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum stars Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Lee Pace as Thranduil, Jamie Dornan as Strider, aka Aragorn, Leo Woodall as Halvard, Kate Winslet as Marigol, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Seren.
The story delves into Gollum's past, back in a time when he was known as a young Stoorish lad called Sméagol.
Serkis will direct the movie. Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, who wrote The Lord of the Rings trilogy, are penning the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson, meanwhile, is producing the project.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in theaters on December 17, 2027.
Hobbit day Hunt For Gollum photos
by u/DryScholar8371 in lotr