It is said that there are seven wonders of the world — or eight, if you count King Kong (which we absolutely do!) But we would wager that there is another: the sight of Andy Serkis hunching over, in a mo-cap suit, transforming into Gollum before our very eyes. And today the actor-director has gifted us that wonder once again as Warner Bros. has released a special announcement video to reveal that The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum — Serkis’ upcoming Middle-earthian midquel — has officially entered production out in New Zealand. Watch the reveal for yourself below;
There you go, then! Serkis is in — and indeed on — the directorial hotseat, revved up and ready for the hunt to begin. And while this little behind-the-scenes announcement clip doesn’t exactly give us a lot beyond the joy of seeing Serkis doing what he does best, a sweeping aerial shot of real-life Middle-earth, and some strains of Howard Shore’s transportive Rings score, there’s already plenty to get giddy about when it comes to The Hunt For Gollum — not least its epic ensemble. In case you needed a reminder, Serkis’ blockbuster epic is set to star *deep breath* Elijah Wood as Frodo and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf; Lee Pace as the Elvenking, Thranduil; Jamie Dornan as Aragorn/Strider; Kate Winslet as Marigol, reportedly Gollum/Sméagol’s Stoor Hobbit grandmother; Anya Taylor-Joy as Sindarin elf Seren; and Leo Woodall as Dúnedain man Halvard, believed to be one of the Rangers of the North accompanying Aragorn/Strider on his hunt for Serkis’ Gollum.
Set between the events of The Hobbit and Fellowship Of The Ring, and described by co-writer Philippa Boyens to Empire as “an adventure story with a really strong psychological, interior story that’s going on as well,” The Hunt For Gollum follows Aragorn’s quest to capture — you guessed it! — Gollum before he can reveal the location of The One Ring to Sauron. And while yes, we may already know how things pan out on that front, we remain very excited to return to Middle-earth when the preciousss— er, The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum hits cinemas on 17 December, 2027. We wants it… we needs it…
