During a recent interview with Empire, The Lord of the Rings writer Philippa Boyens confirmed that the upcoming spin-off film by Andy Serkis, starring his iconic motion-capture character, Gollum, will only be one film — not two as previously mentioned.
She said: “I can tell you categorically they are not two films.” “There was a genuine misunderstanding because we started work, theoretically, on two different live-action motion-captured films. The first being Gollum and the second one not confirmed yet.”
Boyens also revealed the timeline for Gollum’s appearance in relation to The Fellowship of the Ring. “It’s a very concentrated story, taking place after Bilbo’s birthday party and before the Mines of Moria. It’s a specific part of the untold story, narrated from the perspective of this amazing creature.”
If you recall Serkis’ rumor that Gollum would be shown across two long films created during an interview with Sir Ian McKellen; his confusion seems to stem from miscommunication with Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films company, which has “multiple” ideas for additional projects starring Gandalf, according to Boyens. She told Empire: “We are toying with a number of ideas, but most of those ideas involve Gandalf.” “So it’s likely Gandalf will return for two live-action motion-captured films. We have another amazing film in mind that would be great as an animated one. But let’s see if there’s an appetite for it.”
And in case you forgot, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim – a fantasy animated film directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) – is set to be released in theaters on December 13. Starring Brian Cox as the legendary Helm Hammerhand, the story revolves around the former King of Rohan and his family defending their kingdom against the Dunlending army. Depending on the quality of this film, we may also get a follow-up animated film starring the 85-year-old McKellen as Gandalf in a voiceover role.
But this raises the honest question of whether the American cinema audience will be interested in watching a traditional 2D animated film – or a Serkis film, in this regard, after a full 20 years since the release of the two-dimensional animated film The Return of the King and 10 years after The Hobbit, the trilogy is mostly remembered due to its connection to Denny’s list. In the words of Gandalf himself: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
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