The hunt is on!
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum director Andy Serkis recently revealed that cameras were rolling on the fantasy prequel, and Warner Bros. has now officially announced that production is underway with our first look at some behind-the-scenes footage.
The teaser shows Serkis back in the mo-cap suit, as he slips into character as Gollum to call action on the movie's opening scene. We then see a sweeping aerial shot of the New Zealand set (likely doubling for Ephel Dúath) accompanied by Howard Shore's classic theme.
The Hunt for Gollum will also feature the return of Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace as King Thranduil. New cast members include Anya Taylor-Joy (Dune: Part Three, Furiosa, The New Mutants) as Elven warrior Seren, Kate Winslet as Smeagol's grandmother, Marigol, Jamie Dornan as a younger take on Strider/Aragorn, and Leo Woodall as Halvard.
Serkis confirmed that AI will be used for "a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters, and machine learning is part of the process" during a recent interview.
"When you think about it, in the original Lord of the Rings films, Peter created MASSIVE, which was a program which allowed 1000s of orcs to all have their own individual mindset. So that is a brilliant example of an incredible use of AI. But we’re not creating AI shots in our movie, every shot is created in a traditional way. One of the things actually that I really wanted to do with this film was to bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics and marry them up, because that’s my taste. I like it when you mix up different filmmaking techniques."
Serkis declined to reveal which characters will be de-aged, but we assume it'll be Smeagol, Gandalf, and Frodo.
“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!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement when the film was announced. “As life long 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!”
“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,” added Serkis. “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…”.
“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,” WBD film chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca added. “We are honored they have agreed 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.”