Filming for the new Lord of the Rings film The Hunt for Gollum is set to start at the beginning of 2026 in Wellington.
The film will follow the hobbit’s origin story, with English actor Andy Serkis reprising his role as the voice of the character.
He’ll also be serving as the movie’s director.
“I’m thrilled to be back, and this time digging back into Gollum again, but from in front and behind the camera,” Serkis told 1News.
“He is very, very complex and bizarrely, people seem to relate to that character because he’s so multifaceted and we all have some kind of relationship to a character that is unreliable.”
When asked if he’d been working on Gollum’s distinctive speech, Serkis said he didn’t need to practice “because he’s never left me”.
“He’s always there – he’s indelibly part of my personality now.”
Sir Peter Jackson, Dame Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are producing the film.
Serkis, 60, said he was “super excited to come back” to the film series and “working with my dear friends”.
“It’s just incredible to be back in a place with the team, the local team, the family that we kind of grew up working with over all of these years creating wonderful stories.
“I love the work ethos in New Zealand, I love just the attitude towards storytelling that comes from Philippa, Fran and Pete.”
New and familiar faces
Boyens is writing the script and while it’s still early days, she did confirm the return of some well-known characters.
“I don’t think you could tell the story of The Hunt for Gollum without some special characters,” she said.
While fans can expect to see the return of familiar faces like Gandalf and Aragorn, there’ll be some new characters too, Serkis added.
“We’re in the very, very early stages of writing at the moment, but I think it is true to say we want to delve as deeply as we can into the origins of the character, the psychology of the character.”
One of the unique challenges of making the film is trying to create an original story based off such a well-known character.
“You don’t want to patronise the audience who know the story very well and the films are beloved by so many millions of people, so our job is quite an interesting tightrope walk,” he said.
Boyens also addressed fan speculation the film would be split into two parts.
“It’s definitely one film,” she said.
“Please, please, just one,” Serkis added.
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Boyens said “confusion arose” after Gandalf star Sir Ian McKellen let slip that he would be potentially appearing in two live action Lord of the Rings films.
“We’ve committed ourselves to doing two live action films, and I can imagine that one character in particular – Gandalf – will probably appear in both,” she explained.
“I think the confusion arose when Ian mentioned being in two films potentially and then people thought ‘oh, they’re going to split The Hunt for Gollum’ into two films’, but not necessarily.”
It comes as anime Lord of the Rings film War of the Rohirrim had its New Zealand premiere this week.
“I’m excited for everyone to see it. I love that it’s Christmas time in New Zealand, and you get to go and see another Lord of the Rings film in cinemas,” Boyens said.
“That feels like a bit of a family tradition for some people, so yeah, it’s really special.”
‘Real buzz’ in the capital
The new movie will explore Gollum’s origin story – with the help of some familiar faces. (Source: 1News)
New Zealand’s screen industry is expected to receive a boost when production begins in the capital.
“We’re coming for you, because we’re going to need you all,” Boyens said.
“These films are huge challenges – physically, mentally, you know, stamina-wise,” Andy Serkis said.
The New Zealand Film Commission’s head of international attraction and marketing, Philippa Mossman, said there’s a “real buzz” around the new Gollum film.
“Everyone in the screen industry will either want to be part of Andy and Philippa’s team or to be supporters from the sidelines of the sector,” Mossman said.
The New Zealand Film Commission estimates that international productions bring in roughly $1.3 billion into the country every year.
“We encourage productions to lend their expertise to growing our sector’s skilled workforce. This is a key part of the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate criteria,” she said.
“This incentive is the key that opens the door to lucrative international productions such as the new Gollum film which, as well as reaching Lord of the Rings fans all over the world, brings a considerable amount of money here, employs thousands, expands careers, and reinforces New Zealand’s reputation.”
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