The Hunt for Gollum will only be a movie, after all

During a recent interview with Empire, The Lord of the rings Co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens confirmed the upcoming Andy Serkis spin-off film with his own groundbreaking motion capture character, The Hunt for Gollumwill just be a movie –not two, as previously reported.

“I can definitely tell you it’s not two films,” she says. “This was a real misunderstanding that happened because we started working conceptually on two different live-action films. The first creature The Hunt for Gollumthe second still needs to be confirmed.”

Boyens also revealed the timeline of the Gollum spin-off The Fellowship of the Ring. “It’s a pretty intense story, set after Bilbo’s birthday party and before the mines of Moria. It is a specific part of an incredible, untold story, told from the perspective of this incredible creature.”

If you remember, the Serkis rumor Gollum The picture would be divided into two feature films, which were created from an interview with Sir Ian McKellan. His confusion apparently stemmed from a miscommunication with Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films, which, according to Boyens, has “several” ideas for further projects starring Gandalf. “We’re playing around with a number of ideas, but most of these ideas actually involve Gandalf,” she told Empire. “So Gandalf would potentially return for two live-action films. We have an absolute banger of a second film that would be incredible as an anime. But let’s see if there’s an appetite for it.”

In case you forgot, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim –an anime fantasy film directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell: Standalone complex) – is set to hit theaters on December 13th. Starring Brian Cox as the legendary Helm Hammerhand, the story follows the former King of Rohan and his family as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings. Depending on how well the film does, we could also get a follow-up anime with 85-year-old McKellan voicing the role of Gandalf.

But that honestly raises the question of whether American movie audiences will be interested in seeing a traditional 2D animated film – or Serkis’ film, a full 20 years after the release of The Return of the King and 10 years after a Hobbit Trilogy that was best remembered for its connection to the Denny’s menu. To quote Gandalf himself: “We only have to decide what to do with the time we are given.”

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