The new Lord of the Rings movie has a name and a director!

My precious ! We finally know the name of the first film from the franchise: The Hunt for Gollum… and Andy Serkis is back.

Just a few days ago, fans of the work of Tolkien mourned the death of Bernard Hill, the interpreter of King Théoden of Rohan, emblematic character of the saga. As a (small) consolation then, Warner Bros. recently made revelations about the first film from the franchise The Lord of the Rings.

The announcement had the effect of a bomb. While a little over a year ago, the American company revealed that it was preparing several films around Middle Earth, with the involvement of Peter Jacksondirector of the two previous trilogies, and the original screenwriters Fran Walsh And Philippa Boyens – without any additional indication being given as to the subjects of the films – yesterday Warner Bros lifted the veil on one of these films. The latter marks the unexpected return of one of the emblematic characters…

Without any more suspense, the film will be titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollumand it will be carried out by the one and only Andy Serkis. Although this is not his first feature film (he has already signed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle), he nevertheless marks his return to the franchise which introduced him to motion capture by lending his voice, his expressions and his movements to the stinking and sneaky creature, Gollum.

The actor also declared:

“Yesssss, my Precious One. The time has come once again to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and peerless guardians of Middle-earth, Peter, Fran and Philippa.”

According to VarietyPeter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens added: “It is an honor and privilege to return to Middle-earth with our great friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who still has unfinished business with that Sneaky Gollum.”

Monster masterpiece of fantasy literature and cinema, The Lord of the Rings is an art object that has become cult and prolific. Between them, the films generated three billion dollars in worldwide box office revenue and received seventeen Oscars, including eleven for The king's return. As for the trilogy of Hobbit whose events take place before those of Lord of the Rings, despite its inferior results, it nevertheless remains a real success.

Without his son, Viggo Mortensen would not have played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings

In 2022, it is on the small screen that Tolkien's rich work with still unexplored corners continued with the Amazon Prime series, The Rings of Power. Taking place three thousand years before the events of the Third Age as we know it, the series highlights the return of Sauron to Middle-earth, and the last alliance of Men and Elves to fight the evil forces of Morgoth. While season 2 is teased as “darker”, season 3 is already in the pipeline.

So what will we talk about? Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum ? For the moment the script is in its first drafts. For now, what we know about Gollum is that before becoming the creature we know, obsessed with the One Ring and who (spoiler alert) dies in the flames of the Mountain of Destiny, he was a Hobbit of the Shire. It is the discovery of this magical object that corrupts him and leads him into a descent into Hell beginning with the murder of his best friend. Sméagol becomes Gollum, slave of the Ring, living recluse in a cave far from all presence and all light. Until the day when he comes face to face with another Hobbit – Bilbo Baggins – who then takes his precious… The title may suggest that the film will focus on the moment mentioned in the novel during the Council of Elrond where Aragorn and Gandalf seek to find Gollum. Which would give the possibility of bringing back Viggo Mortensen And Ian McKellen in Serkis' film – except that the two actors are 25 years older than at the time of Jackson's film.

Otherwise, the passage from the novel was already the subject of a rather successful fan film in 2009, entitled (tadam!) The Hunt for Gollumwhich is visible on Dailymotion. Take advantage of it before the Tolkien Estate's rights holders unleash their Dúnedain Rangers on it.

The Hunt for Gollumthe official film, will be released in 2026. In the meantime, fans will be able to discover at the end of the year The War of the Rohirrim, the animated feature film which will recount the exploits of the king of Rohan, Helm Hand-Hammer, facing the invasion of the Men of the Land of Dun.

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