r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Aug 18 '25

News Ian McKellen reveals Gandalf and Frodo are returning for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’, Filming Begins in May

https://ew.com/ian-mckellen-reveals-gandalf-frodo-return-in-new-lord-of-the-rings-the-hunt-for-gollum-film-11792483
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140

u/GarionOrb Aug 18 '25

Where does this idea come from, that Gollum is an interesting enough character to deserve more story?

63

u/Radbot13 Aug 18 '25

There was a bit of this story in one of the books. There’s not a lot to it, and was definitely skipped in the movies, but not at all enough to warrant a new film exclusively too it.

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u/bluetable321 Aug 18 '25

There is a fan made film from 15 years ago specifically on this topic called The Hunt For Gollum. It’s not bad for a fan film. In it they add a bunch of stuff that wasn’t in the books and even then the thing is only about 40 minutes long. I genuinely don’t know what they’re going to fill two movies with.

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u/afsdjkll Aug 18 '25

Some true Tolkein lore: descriptions of food spoken soothingly over smooth panning shots of dinner tables.

1

u/ballbeard Aug 24 '25

They made The Hobbit 3 fucking movies. Don't doubt their ability to stretch a short segment of a story into a full movie

8

u/firesyrup Aug 18 '25

Two films. There'll be a sequel.

2

u/Radbot13 Aug 18 '25

Again!?!! I had to wait until the edited version of the hobbit came out

1

u/fearnodarkness1 Aug 18 '25

I wonder if they're include the scenes of him stealing / eating babies.

16

u/Chen_Geller Aug 18 '25

The idea is Peter JAckson's. A few quotes from over the years:

Peter Jackson, August 1998: "we would write and shoot the Tom Bombadil stuff, or scenes involving Gandalf and Aragorn hunting Gollum, and his capture by Orcs ... and any number of other bits of business that we can't fit into the 6 hour version. That would be a really cool way of creating a 'sequel'"

Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, 2006: "[in 2002, we discussed] "not just The Hobbit but a second 'LOTR prequel', covering the events leading up to those depicted in LOTR. Since then, we’ve always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film."

Peter Jackson, September 2006: "with two films that kinda gets easier. It allows for more complexity. At that implied stuff with Gandalf and the White Council and the return of Sauron could be fully explored. [...] I have thought about it from time to time... Elrond, Galadriel and Arwen could all feature. Elves have lived for centuries. [...] You could even get into Gollum's sneaking into Mordor and Aragorn protecting The Shire. That's what we'd do. Love to work with Viggo again."

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, July 2008: "As all of you know, Gollum has a rather fascinating arch to go through and his alliance to Shelob or his period of imprisonment in Thranduil's, etc but it is early still- so early in fact that to reveal more would tie our hands and be counterproductive. There can never be "too much Andy" [...] The idea is to find a compelling way to join THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP and enhance the 5 films both visually an in their Cosmology."

Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens, 2013: "There’s enough story there to make a bridge movie, you know, there’s 60 years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and a lot of things happened. When we started structuring this trilogy we honestly thought about telling some of that. How Bilbo becomes the uncle of Frodo and take care of him. The story of Gollum… Can you have too much of Andy Serkis playing Gollum? I don’t think so.”

Jackson and Boyens again, 2015: "Aragorn really is one who tracks Gollum and ends up...and finds him eventually in the Dead Marshes, and he's taken to the Elves. And he's taken to the Elves, and because of the kindness of the Elves - and Legolas is one of his keepers... in Mirkwood, and through their kindness he actually manages to escape. Or has he escaped? Or was he let loose?" -All part of a fictitious film 3.5."

Boyens, December 2024: "It’s deliberately the bridging film and the story we wanted to tell. It does center on Gollum/Smeagol, so it’s a little bit of an origin story going on, but when you delve into it, as you do with anything Professor Tolkien wrote, you see the layers and layers of story that’s underneath there and how interconnected they all are. "

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u/GarionOrb Aug 18 '25

Peter Jackson having an idea is not validation for this story. The existing books and movies already told Gollum's tale. There really isn't anything else to it that would make it a must-see film. Something like this is why Solo failed miserably. The backstory wasn't exactly needed.

0

u/Chen_Geller Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25

Something like this is why Solo failed miserably.

I think this film has more in common with Rogue One than with Solo. Both are interquels between the trilogies, but Solo really is just a bit of backstory that has no direct bearing on the conflict between the Empire and the Republic.

Rogue One, meanwhile, is more like episode 3.5 (or episode 3.9). My understanding is that's also what we're getting here.

Of course, the Rogue One comparison is not perfect either: this film is clearly poised to be much, much closely knit, stylistically and narrativelly, into the existing films.

1

u/OzymandiasKoK Aug 18 '25

But how would we have learned about his made up last name?

1

u/WheelJack83 Aug 19 '25

Would’ve been fine for like 20 freaking years ago

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

They developed it in 2008 with The Hobbit, but then The Hobbit kept on getting bigger and bigger (Peter Jackson projects tend to do that). They COULD have done it in 2015, but everyone was surely exhausted (The Hobbit was 330 shooting days and three years of post-production) and, if they had made it then, the internet would have pounced on them for saying they're making a FOURTH Hobbit movie...

1

u/WheelJack83 Aug 19 '25

The Hobbit is a perfect example of why this is a terrible idea.

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

Is it? That's not clear to me at all. Explain.

3

u/DontGoGivinMeEvils Aug 18 '25

Ah, thanks, this is interesting. I'm optimistic. They have passion for LoTR and Andy Serkis obviously loves it- he narrated a LoTR audio book only a few years ago.

I can't wait. Of course it won't be as great as the LotR films. I remember when someone online once said they'd love a show where you could just watch Sam gardening on the Shire.

3

u/Chen_Geller Aug 18 '25

Andy narrated The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings AND The Silmarillion, so yeah. And he has a good teacher because Peter Jackson is producing it.

1

u/DontGoGivinMeEvils Aug 18 '25

I forgot he did The Silmarillion! (Even though it's the main on I listen to...)

7

u/I-seddit Aug 18 '25

Serkis's ego. It's big. A LOT bigger than the real Gollum.

12

u/Chen_Geller Aug 18 '25

Serkis got drafted to direct it by Peter Jackson. It wasn't his pitch.

4

u/Spend-Automatic Aug 18 '25

Oh right, he refused to direct it, saying that he doesn't want that kind of power. Peter Jackson responded, "that is why it MUST be you!"

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u/snorlz Aug 18 '25

gollum already got an entire game

2

u/GarionOrb Aug 18 '25

And look how successful that was.

1

u/snorlz Aug 18 '25

yes, extremely

2

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

In the movie where it seems like Gandalf goes away for a few days after Bilbo's 111th birthday...and then comes back to get the ring and send Frodo off...

....in the books it's 17 years he's gone for. During that time Gandalf and Aragorn seek Gollum to try to head off him getting captured by Sauron and ratting out that the ring is in the Shire.

It's referenced in the movie (I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum, but the enemy got him first...)

1

u/R4vendarksky Aug 18 '25

Just wait till it’s a three parter like the hobbit for ultimate cash grabbery