The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
producer Philippa Boyens explains which movie from Peter Jackson’s original trilogy the upcoming film will be most similar to. Following the release of anime The War of the Rohirrim, audiences will get to return to a live-action version of Middle-earth from director Andy Serkis. The Hunt for Gollum‘s story is expected to take place within the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, chronicling Gandalf and Aragorn’s attempts to apprehend Gollum before he can speak of Frodo and the One Ring to Sauron.

During a recent interview with SlashFilm, Boyens, who also produces The War of the Rohirrim, shares new details about The Hunt for Gollum. The producer touches on the movie’s general tone, revealing that it will have a lot of similarities to The Two Towers (2002) as a film that helps to bridge the larger parts of a narrative together. Boyens also stresses, however, that The Hunt for Gollum will feel unique in many ways, in addition to showing new parts of Middle-earth. Check out Boyens’ comment below:

I think there’s echo. There’s definitely … “Two Towers,” it’s not going to be “Two Towers,” but the similarities, I think, is the bridging nature of the film. “Two Towers” was one of the harder films to write because it is doing that, bridging the beginning. It is the middle film. It has a quality of that to it.

But one thing that we are determined to do — and a lot of this is going to have to do with Andy Serkis as a director — is we want this to be different and to feel fresh. To exist within the world that has been established, but also to be surprising. And I think what’s interesting is we are finding a lot of threads of story that are surprising in there when you really go in there and examine it.

Yeah. We get to go to some places that we’ve never been before, which will be really, really, really cool.

What The Two Towers Similarities Mean For The Hunt For Gollum

Why Andy Serkis’ Film Already Faces An Uphill Battle

The Hunt for Gollum is a curious choice for a new movie because of its place in the Lord of the Rings franchise’s timeline. The story seemingly takes place in the years before Frodo leaves the Shire on his quest with the One Ring, and it involves characters audiences are already familiar with. Purely from a stakes perspective, the film faces a challenge because the endings for most key characters involved are already known, and it won’t be able to really offer a conclusive ending.

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That being said, The Two Towers was a major success. The second of Jackson’s epic trilogy enjoys a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes from both audiences and critics. The Two Towers also grossed $923 million worldwide. It’s notable that Jackson won’t be directing The Hunt for Gollum, but it very much takes place in his version of J.R.R Tolkien’s story, and The Two Towers‘ success could be a positive sign for the movie.

Our Take On The Hunt For Gollum Being Similar To The Two Towers

Why Was This Story Chosen?

When Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens were writing their Lord of the Rings trilogy, they compressed the story in many ways to make it better suited to the movie format. Aragorn and Gandalf’s mission to apprehend Gollum was ultimately deemed not worth including, and the film benefited from this decision. Basing the first live-action Lord of the Rings movie in more than a decade on a side quest that Tolkien himself didn’t flesh out with much detail makes The Hunt for Gollum an odd proposition.

Still, though, since so much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy’s creative team will be behind The Hunt for Gollum, it’s certainly earned the benefit of the doubt. Seeing Serkis back as Gollum, too, will be exciting, even if it does feel like that character has now been explored on-screen enough. Many questions remain about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, but those who liked The Two Towers could be in for a treat.

Source: SlashFilm

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is an upcoming fantasy adventure film that delves into the story of Gollum’s obsession with the One Ring. The film takes place during the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, exploring Gollum’s tumultuous past and his relentless pursuit of the Ring. Set in Middle-earth, the story navigates the treacherous landscapes and dark forces that threaten the fate of the Ring.

Writers

Fran Walsh
, Philippa Boyens
, Phoebe Gittins
, Art Papageorgiou

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

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