fantasy
“Lord of the Rings” saga continues
He was Gollum, now he’s directing: Andy Serkis. photo
© Andrew Cowie/epa/dpa
With the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Peter Jackson created a cinema blockbuster that won many Oscars. Now the Middle-earth saga is to be continued under a new direction.
Hollywood wants to come up with a new “Lord of the Rings” film will return to Middle-earth. Warner Bros. Pictures announced the project “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” with a planned theatrical release for 2026.
British actor and director Andy Serkis (60), who played the character Gollum in previous “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” episodes, is on board as the lead actor and director. New Zealander Peter Jackson, who directed the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is producing along with his wife Fran Walsh, as US trade publications reported.
Serkis, who also played the chimpanzee Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy, made his directorial debut in 2018 with the romantic drama “As Long as I Breathe.” He then directed the films “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”.
The fantasy saga “Lord of the Rings” by the British writer JRR Tolkien was the basis for Peter Jackson’s three-part film adaptation: “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “The Two Towers” (2002) and “The Return of the King” (2003). The films won many Oscars, with eleven awards going to “The Return of the King” alone.
A new film from the “Lord of the Rings” cosmos is coming to cinemas this year – the animated fantasy saga “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is a so-called prequel, i.e. it tells the story of the saga . The film by Japanese anime director Kenji Kamiyama is scheduled to be released in December.