The Hunt for Gollum Will Not Be Two Films, Second LOTR Film in the Works, Philippa Boyens Confirms

Movies

Back in May of this year, it was announced that a new Lord of the Rings film titled The Hunt for Gollum was in development, with Peter Jackson and his team producing. The film is set during the events shortly before The Fellowship of the Ring and will be directed by Gollum actor Andy Serkis. There have also been rumors that Ian McKellan would return as Gandalf, and possibly even Aragorn himself, portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the beloved film trilogy. 

There were also reports originating from an interview with Sir Ian McKellan a month ago that this would be two films; however, it was recently confirmed to Empire by Philippa Boyens that this is untrue. 

“I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films!” Boyens said. “That was a genuine misunderstanding that happened because we’ve begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films. The first being The Hunt For Gollum, the second one still to be confirmed.” She then promises a gripping tale to be told in Serkis’ feature film. “It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria,” she explained. “It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”

As for why The Hunt For Gollum was believed to be two films, she elaborated further: 

“We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas do include Gandalf,” Boyens explained. “So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films.” Plus, if anime feature The War Of The Rohirrim – on which Boyens is writer/producer – proves to be a success this December, there could be more animated Middle-earth stories too. We have an absolute banger of a second film that would just be incredible as an anime,” she teased. “But let’s see if there’s an appetite for it.”

It does not appear that even Peter Jackson and his team have addressed the elephant in the room regarding this: the story of Gollum/Smeagol has already been told in Jackson’s final installment of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Return of the King, and, of course, the novels. So why retell a story that a majority of fans already know? Is it possible the utter embarrassment of the Gollum video game is to blame for this, that they would wish to retell this sad, pathetic creature’s story again, but “better”? Gollum himself is not necessarily a popular character, not in the same vein as the Fellowship or even Galadriel, for example. However, there is also the glaring possibility that Warner Bros. is looking for a cash grab, believing that the established fanbase could come in flocks, especially with Peter Jackson’s name on the project, but that is not necessarily so. The Tolkien fans will not be bamboozled by these giant corporations again, regardless of familiar, once-trusted names to help gatekeep these franchises.

Even with the upcoming War of the Rohirrim, the original tale is a compelling story of Helm Hammerhand and his sons and how Helm’s Deep got its name. But in this adaptation, an unnamed daughter who was mentioned in a sentence is being fronted as the driving force of the story. And the tease of more animated features does give some intrigue, but with how War of Rohirrim is looking, there is nothing that hints at future films being well done, especially by sticking to the source material, despite there being a plethora of detailed material for anyone to adapt correctly. 

All this appears to be is an attempt at milking the Lord of the Rings franchise for money from a fandom that has been long established for decades, which is honestly quite sad at this point. So, now, the floor is open to you. What are your thoughts on this clarification and the potential for more Lord of the Rings films in the future? Please comment down below!