Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: andy serkis, lord of the rings, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Andy Serkis To Direct & Star In Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum

Warner Bros. has confirmed that Andy Serkis will star and direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum (working title). It will be released in 2026.

Today, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that we aren't just returning to the world of Lord of the Rings, and Middle Earth won't be just in animation. Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim takes place centuries before the events of the books and is a film we have learned almost nothing about so far, though it is set to come out later this year. Now we know that Warner Bros. is also bringing Lord of the Rings back into live action. In a press release sent out today to various media outlets (via Deadline), the studio announced that a new film was in the works, which will be directed and star Andy Serkis. The working title at the moment is Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum, and it will be released in 2026, so not that far away. Franchise mainstays Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will be producing and heavily involved with the project. Walsh and Boyens are set to write the script along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, both of whom worked on The War of the Rohirrim, so Warner Bros. and everyone involved must be happy with everything they are seeing with that thus far. This is also confirmed to be the first of two new Lord of the Rings films.

New Lord Of The Rings Stories In Live-Action

Various people within Warner Bros. upper management and those involved with The Hunt For Gollum shared their thoughts in the press release, which are listed below:

Said Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, "For over two decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran, and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien's works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision. We are honored they have agreed to be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history."

Said Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens: "It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum! As lifelong fans of Professor Tolkien's vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy, and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!"

And Serkis said — "Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth: Peter, Fran, and Philippa. With Mike and Pam and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film-making family in New Zealand, it's just all too delicious…"

The reaction to this news will be controversial, to say the least. While the original trilogy is one of those rare examples of miracle film-making, the second trilogy is a walking example of everything that can be done wrong when you try to make lightning strike twice. The one-off animated film seemed like a good idea because it was so unattached to anything related to the previous films, but this is still very much connected to familiar characters, timelines, and locations. Perhaps the tune around this will change once December rolls around. If The War of the Rohirrim ends up good, but right now, the last taste many still have of Lord of the Rings on the big screen is a bloated trilogy of films that was a constant reminder of the greed of studio executives as they tried to milk The Hobbit for every penny that they could. Warner Bros. does not have anyone's sword, axe, or bow at the moment, but that could change in December.

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