The Hunt For Gollum Will Be The Joker Of The Tolkien-Verse
Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis are taking a page from the DC playbook.
The idea of a new Lord of the Rings film would be intriguing in theory — if there was enough material to warrant a return to Middle-earth, that is. Aside from J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices and glossaries, however, every story worth telling has already been told. That gives The Hunt for Gollum, the upcoming set between Peter Jackson’s Hobbit prequels and his Lord of the Rings trilogy, a unique challenge. What more is there to say about Andy Serkis’ Gollum, short of the offhand details Tolkien provided through footnotes and light exposition? Why do we need a Gollum-focused film all these years later, and how would that even work?
Jackson, who returns to the franchise as a producer, has been considering all these questions as The Hunt for Gollum gets underway. Speaking to IndieWire at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the filmmaker offered some insight into the scope of the film. “The Lord of the Rings has got these big appendices at the end,” he explained, “and part of The Hunt for Gollum is described in that. Gollum’s childhood and how he became what he was. He is trying to get to the Shire, and the Rangers are tracking him down. He ends up being captured and taken to Mordor — it’s all in the appendices.”
Serkis will take over directing duties for The Hunt for Gollum, a choice that Jackson believes will make the film so much more interesting. “I honestly, truly believe that if it’s a film about Gollum’s addiction and internal struggles, Andy would make a much more interesting film than me.”
The Hunt for Gollum will reframe the franchise around Gollum, just as Joker did for the Joker.
Serkis’ version of Gollum will also take a major page from a recent comic book adaptation: Todd Phillips’ Joker. Jackson and his partner, screenwriter Fran Walsh, looked to the villain prequel — and “the way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story” — as Gollum’s North Star. That makes sense, as the Gollum team is tackling Tolkien’s material from the title character’s perspective, not unlike how Joker completely reframes the Batman universe around Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix).
“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,” Jackson said. “You’re taking written things by Tolkien and filming them from a certain POV, and that means you have to get inside his head.”
That task will be all too easy for Serkis, who’s spent years exploring Gollum’s inner workings and motivations. And ideally, his unique perspective will give us new insights into the realm of Middle-earth. It’s still not a totally necessary addition to this universe, but if it must be done, at least Jackson, Serkis, and their collaborators are working hard to mix things up.
