The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring star Elijah Wood has defended the upcoming The Hunt for Gollum against those labeling it a “cash grab” move by Warner Bros. Discovery. As one of the huge IPs that the studio is looking to – in the words of CEO David Zaslav – “put to work” in the future, The Lord of the Rings is coming back to cinemas with two new live-action movies, but not everyone has been happy about the news of this new addition to the fantasy franchise.
Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy was seen as a bit of a greedy move by Warner Bros., with the Tolkien story being expanded upon to warrant three movies rather than the originally planned two. Now, a decade on, Andy Serkis is stepping into the director’s chair, and presumably about to flex his vocal cords as the voice of the titular tragic hobbit in The Hunt for Gollum. Athough some have been quick to dismiss the film as an exploitation of Tolkien’s work, Frodo Baggins actor Wood disagrees. Speaking to Inverse, Wood said:
“I am excited. I am obviously a fan of the creative team. I’m invested because it is the same creative team behind Lord of the Rings. It’s revisiting that character, giving Andy a movie to direct… There’s no better person to shepherd that particular movie than the person who really created that character and knows that character through and through. It just feels like getting the band back together in a really cool way for a really unique piece.”
I think the idea of there being more films in that universe is only exciting if it’s being shepherded by Pete, Fran, and Philippa and the rest of their creative universe in New Zealand.
“When it comes to, and I think we’re all a little bit sensitive to this, this world of trying to make more films within a certain kind of franchise, there can be a degree of cynicism associated with it. There can be this sort of, ‘Oh, f***, are they going to mess the thing up that I love? Is it just this kind of cash grab to exploit a specific thing?’”
The Lord of The Rings Will Have More Than One New Movie
While there have been many rumors over The Hunt for Gollum being a two-part movie – mainly thanks to a comment made by Gandalf actor Ian McKellen last month – Wood noted that he believes there are more movies following this one, something that screenwriter Philippa Boyens confirmed in a new interview with Empire Magazine. Wood commented:
“Apparently, there’s going to be another couple of movies all telling new stories within that universe, adjacent to the Lord of the Rings. Honestly, there’s so many different stories they could tell, so I’m excited to see what comes of it.”
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Orlando Bloom Teases Potential Return in New Lord of the Rings Movie
Legolas could appear in Andy Serkis’ upcoming Gollum movie.
There has been plenty of speculation over whether any of the original Lord of the Rings cast will return for the new movie. Now more than 20 years on from the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, which The Hunt for Gollum fits in the middle of, it could be a tough ask for many of the original stars to reprise their roles in any kind of believable way – even though some, including McKellen, have expressed an interest in doing so. With the movie slated for release in 2026, it will probably not be too long until we find out who will be playing the key roles this time around.
- Release Date
- December 18, 2001
- Runtime
- 178 Minutes
- Tagline
- ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL, ONE RING TO FIND THEM. ONE RING TO BRING THEM ALL AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM.
- Website
- HTTP://WWW.LORDOFTHERINGS.NET
- Franchise
- THE LORD OF THE RINGS