Every The Hunt For Gollum Question You Probably Have, Answered By A Lord Of The Rings Expert
Did you see that plot twist coming, Precious? Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced the news that we'll be returning to Middle-earth in a new movie about Gollum, everybody's favorite fish-eating gremlin, tentatively titled "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum." Despite the usual excitement that follows any developments about such popular material, it's fair to say that the collective reaction to this reveal mostly amounted to: "...Him?" Compared to the likes of the classic "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the widely-panned "The Hobbit" movies, the animated "The War of the Rohirrim" film, and even Prime Video's "The Rings of Power" show, a prequel following an awfully brief chapter in the centuries-spanning life of pathetic ol' Sméagol, of all characters, doesn't quite conjure up the same images of epic storytelling and sweeping adventures fans have come to expect from their beloved franchise. It certainly helps that actor Andy Serkis is set to return as both star and director, joined by Peter Jackson and original co-writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh as producers, but is that enough to win over any skeptics?
We're not here to convince anyone that this is a worthy endeavor on the same level of creativity and ambition as what came before, mind you, but even the biggest J.R.R. Tolkien nerds have to admit there remains much to dig into beneath the surface of this project. Of all the possible directions to take this franchise, after all, perhaps none raise as many question marks as this one. Namely, what the heck is this movie about, how will it connect to the originals (if at all), and, most importantly of all, why should anybody care? Join us as we attempt to provide answers for all of these burning questions — and more.
Don't we already know Gollum's whole story?
Not everyone can be considered a walking encyclopedia for all things Middle-earth, so for those wondering exactly how a Gollum movie would play out, allow us to toss out a quick spoiler alert: Gollum dies. The little stinker ultimately met his Doom (get it?) and inadvertently caused the Dark Lord Sauron's own downfall during the fiery climax of "The Return of the King," a poetic end to a character who spent literally hundreds of years tortured and consumed by his lust for the One Ring — you know, just in case anyone had any notions that this production would somehow be a sequel to the original trilogy.
So if not a direct continuation, what about an origin story? Well, "The Return of the King" has that part covered, too. If you remember, the threequel opens on a flashback laying out how the innocent, Hobbit-like creature once known as Sméagol was first corrupted by his discovery of the Ring, resorted to coldblooded murder, and eventually turned into the hideous-looking Gollum. Frankly, what could an entire origin movie accomplish that the ten-minute sequence we all watched twenty years ago didn't already convey pretty darn effectively? And then there's the fact that he returns in 2012's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," where we witness his first encounter with Bilbo Baggins that ultimately put him on Frodo's trail decades later.
Simply put, the title "The Hunt for Gollum" can only be referring to one specific event: a brief period of time set during the events of "The Fellowship of the Ring." Desperate to recover the Ring he lost to Bilbo, Gollum is captured by Sauron's forces and subject to torture. Upon release, he's once again captured ... this time, however, by some familiar faces.
What could a Gollum movie be about?
If you thought "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy featured too much walking around, well, you'd better start preparing for what "The Hunt of Gollum" almost certainly has in store. As it turns out, there's one missing piece in Gollum's story that the movies largely brush aside that this new film will almost certainly address. As told in "The Fellowship of the Ring" novel, the wizard Gandalf sets out on a long, weary journey to hunt down Gollum following the events of "The Hobbit." In his initial pursuit, Gandalf follows Gollum's trail all over Middle-earth as the latter searches high and low for Bilbo's whereabouts. This is when Gandalf nearly crosses paths with Gollum, but makes a grave mistake by turning away, letting the trail go cold, and pursuing other more pressing matters.
Here's where the movie can really sink its teeth into the material. Seventeen years later, a combination of the growing power of Sauron, Bilbo's abandoning of the Ring to Frodo, and Gandalf's own suspicions finally compels him to leave Frodo in safety in the Shire (or so he thinks, at least) and pick up the search all over again, this time with the help of his new friend Aragorn. Following rumors and reported sightings all the way to the outskirts of Mordor itself, Gandalf and Aragorn finally catch up with their prey through pure chance. Here, they finally learn everything: Gollum's imprisonment in Mordor, his subsequent release (which was a ruse so Sauron can have him followed), and, most terrifyingly of all, the fact that Sauron is now aware that the Ring has been found and resides with a Hobbit of the Shire.
In short, this is the pivotal event that kicks off "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Will they recast original The Lord of the Rings characters?
You may have noticed that I've mentioned the names "Aragorn" and "Gandalf" quite a few times by now, and that's because both characters play pretty significant roles throughout this course of events. While filmmakers can always throw curveballs at viewers when adapting material, even when it involves fans as passionate as the ones who follow "The Lord of the Rings," there's almost no way that "The Hunt for Gollum" doesn't have both Aragorn and Gandalf as co-leads.
So that naturally leads to the next obvious question: Which actors will end up playing both fan-favorite characters? With all due respect to Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellen, there's no universe out there where either one returns to reprise their roles for this new movie (although we'll allow the caveat that a framing device could allow a brief cameo, similar to Elijah Wood's appearance in "The Hobbit"). Inevitably, this production will bring all sorts of eyeballs and attention — and probably a fair bit of controversy — as the internet anxiously awaits casting rumors and reports on who might step into such legendary shoes. In terms of optics, a Gollum movie featuring Gandalf and Aragorn certainly beats the once-proposed idea of a young Aragorn television series or some sort of Gandalf-centric prequel ("The Rings of Power," though not technically part of the same continuity as the films, appears to have that aspect covered pretty well) in terms of creativity and imagination.
But is twenty years removed from the original trilogy enough time for general audiences to let go of their loyalty to the cast and entertain the idea of younger actors taking on such well-known characters? That, for better or worse, is a question we won't be able to answer anytime soon.
Which of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings can they use?
Casuals, be warned: The "Rings" copyright situation between television and film is ... complicated. The movies are simple enough to follow — "The Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbit" trilogy, and the upcoming "War for the Rohirrim" animated movie all exist within the same continuity. Easy, right? Things get slightly messier when you factor in Prime Video's "The Rings of Power," which takes place thousands of years before the events of "The Lord of the Rings," but otherwise isn't legally allowed to acknowledge the existence of the movies. (That said, I admit I'm still not 100% sure how they got away with cribbing exact creature designs — the Balrog, for instance — and even entire lines of dialogue from the movies.) Once you begin wading into which of Tolkien's works that each piece of media is able to pull from, well, it can get downright dizzying.
Luckily, things are fairly straightforward with "The Hunt for Gollum." As previously mentioned, the events of Gollum's hunt are covered in the exact same books that the original trilogy is based on. This isn't a case where, say, "The Rings of Power" must resort to only using the appendices that Tolkien included at the very end of "The Return of the King." Any material that exists between the covers of "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," "The Return of the King," and "The Hobbit" are fair game here. (For the nerds out there, this movie will be produced by Warner Bros. Discovery through their affiliate studio New Line Cinema, which is covered by the terms of Embracer's hefty purchase of the movie rights.)
Stay tuned to /Film, folks, as we'll be following this movie as obsessively as Gollum followed the Ring.