‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’: Director Andy Serkis Offers Filming Update!!

Andy Serkis is heading back to Middle-earth, and this time he’s not just voicing and motion-capturing the most iconic CGI creature in cinema — he’s directing too. While promoting his long-gestating animated adaptation of Animal Farm at the Annecy Animation Festival in France, Serkis sat down with Collider’s Steve Weintraub and offered fans an exciting update on his upcoming Lord of the Rings spin-off centered on the artist formerly known as Smeagol in The Hunt for Gollum. Diving into the development of the movie, Serkis opened up by saying:

“We’re very early on in the process. We’ve been talking about the film over the course of the last year. We’re about to start a period of prep in the next few months or so. We will be shooting in the early to mid-part of next year, I guess, and then it’ll be as long as it takes to shoot, which — it’s a sizable movie — all ready for a December 2027 release. I’m incredibly excited to go back and work with my friends and family in New Zealand and actually do something which is, I think, going to be surprising, and yet very much part of the lore and the feel of the trilogy. The sensibility of it will feel, I think, close to that, and yet we’re investigating in greater depth the character formerly known as Smeagol, but mostly known as Gollum.”

Serkis added that the film would be shooting in New Zealand, fittingly, since the six films shot by Peter Jackson across The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were all shot there too, near the headquarters of Weta, the visual effects house that made its name on the Middle-earth series. Serkis added that the script was underway, too: “Yeah. We’re still working. We’re in very, very, sort of relatively early stages, but it’s getting very exciting.”

The film will follow Gollum’s journey during the years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, a period hinted at in Tolkien’s writing but rarely explored in depth. Expect plenty of internal torment, dark corners of Middle-earth, and perhaps a few familiar faces. Serkis is confirmed to direct and star. Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are producing, and the trio is reportedly heavily involved in the development of the film, ensuring continuity with the original trilogy’s tone and lore.

What Is ‘Animal Farm’ About?

Serkis’ other major project, Animal Farm, features an ensemble voice cast bringing George Orwell’s classic allegory to life through animation. The story, adapted by Serkis and a team of screenwriters, centers on a group of farm animals who overthrow their human owner only to fall under the rule of a pig-led dictatorship — a fable as timely now as it was when Orwell first penned it. The film features the voices of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani, and Serkis himself.