Peter Jackson Compares Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum To A DC Movie

Audiences are about to return to Middle-earth in a big way. Andy Serkis, the man who's played Gollum in all of Peter Jackson's J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations to date, is now set to direct "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum." Filming will begin any day now, with the movie taking place roughly between the events of Jackson's "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" trilogies. And while Jackson isn't directing "The Hunt for Gollum," he's still creatively involved, having gone and compared the film to one of the most successful DC Comics-based movies of all time.

In an interview with IndieWire, Jackson discussed Serkis' "Lord of the Rings" in-betweenquel and compared it to 2019's DC's big gamble turned $1 billion box office smash "Joker." Starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips, the film provided an origin story for Batman's most notorious villain. On paper, it wouldn't seem to have much in common with a "Lord of the Rings" movie, but Jackson went on to explain how the two are similar:

"We were thinking about the original 'Joker' film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix. The way that explored the Joker's psychology while it was telling a story. We've got the story that's in the appendices, and we'll tell that story, but we'll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective. You're taking written things by Tolkien and filming them from a certain POV, and that means you have to get inside his head. I've got no particular desire to get inside Gollum's head [laughs]. Andy Serkis can do that himself."

In essence, "The Hunt for Gollum" will dive into Gollum's psychology similar to the way that "Joker" dove into the mind of the Clown Prince of Crime.

"Joker" focused on Arthur Fleck, a mentally disturbed and isolated individual who goes on to become the Joker ... sorta. Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur is not the "real" Joker, according to Todd Phillips, but he's a version of the Joker. Setting that aside, Phoenix and Phillips later reunited for 2024's "Joker: Folie a Deux." Unfortunately, the "Joker" sequel lost a ton of money at the box office, which capped off this iteration of the franchise. But that's neither here nor there.

Specific plot details for the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie are largely being kept under wraps, but it's known that "The Hunt for Gollum" will feature a younger Aragorn. Viggo Mortensen famously played the character in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but Jamie Dornan ("Fifty Shades of Grey") is assuming the role here. Meanwhile, Andy Serkis will once again play Gollum, in addition to directing.

Speaking about the film on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Serkis stated, "There is so much more to be dug out of this very complex character — the most, perhaps, complex character [J.R.R.] Tolkien wrote, because he kept revisiting it as well, right?" He added, "This is a very much more intimate story and a deep dive and psychological investigation into a character who has become, you know, sort of absorbed into public consciousness in a rather large way. So, it sort of feels like there is a real relevance."

Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen will also appear in "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" as Frodo Baggins and Gandalf, respectively, with franchise newcomers Leo Woodall ("The White Lotus") and Kate Winslet ("Avatar: The Way of Water") officially co-starring as well. The movie hits theaters on December 17, 2027.