From 2001-2003, Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy captured the hearts and imaginations of moviegoers around the globe. From 2012-2014, Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy captured fewer things. Now, Jackson’s being dragged back once again to Middle Earth. Sort of.
The Hunt for Gollum, a new batch of films centered around Andy Serkis’ skulking Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana situation, will hit the moviegoing public starting in 2026. Jackson and original Rings trilogy partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens “will be involved every step of the way” as producers.
However, Andy Serkis, Gollum himself, is set to direct.
The project was announced during a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call by America’s favorite '80s movie villain, David Zaslav, and will “explore storylines yet to be told.” The announcement is the latest in the streak of Zaslav’s creative innovations of just wanting it to be 2002 again.
As part of the same venture, a separate Middle Earth-related animated movie, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” will be released on December 13, 2024, and is set 200 years before the events of “The Hobbit.”
All projects appear unrelated to Amazon Prime’s current Middle Earth series, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
So, how’s the internet taking this news? Mixed would be an understatement:
Wait so we’re getting a whole new #LordoftheRings film, produced by Peter Jackson called The Hunt for Gollum and it will be directed by and star Andy Serkis…. Holy shit pic.twitter.com/e1ELcW9vDs
— ? Lewis John Yule ? (@LewisJohnY2) May 9, 2024
Say it with me:
— Sam? (@samspeaksmovies) May 9, 2024
Future sequels in a franchise in no way shape or form affect previous entries.
If the Gollum #LordOfTheRings movie sucks, the original trilogy will always be there untouched.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT GOLLUM.
— Hanzo Hasashi (@gsepulveda35) May 9, 2024
It's great that Jackson is involved but I don't get why they're choosing to tell this story
— dog (@dave_quist) May 9, 2024
One user points out that the works of author J.R. Tolkien have plenty to mine for stories without making up new stuff out of thin air, saying, "Pointless movie, no one wants to watch a film based on Gollum when there’s an entire expansive universe of better stories to be told."
Another user sees this whole announcement as an elaborate ruse:
No one is watching a 3 hour film of gollum LOL.
— Annatar27AD (@TheHiddenValar) May 9, 2024
Guarantee Jackson is using this bit as a cover up for whatever real story he's going to be doing.
The news was announced at the same time the hashtags #DontStreamOnMax and #FireDavidZazlav were trending on X, organized to coincide with WBD’s Q1 earnings call on Thursday. (Shares have dropped by 3.2%, just in case you’re curious.)
#DontStreamOnMax because reality television and soulless ip isn’t the only kind of entertainment and we deserve so much better. pic.twitter.com/6Xa6ufzVXy
— Page Against The Machine? (@saintmaudlin) May 8, 2024
WBD will host their Q1 2024 earnings call at 8 AM EST tomorrow, May 9. To celebrate, tomorrow we encourage you to share why you #DontStreamOnMax. Let's get it trending (again)!
— Adopt Our Crew | #AdoptOurCrew (@adoptourcrew) May 8, 2024
If you're interested in listening in, you can join the webcast here https://t.co/C8YNyFXAMA. pic.twitter.com/BYwP7Xj9fy
Anyway, it might be nice to see Gollum again? Maybe he’ll say that thing he says? “My highlyyyy valuuuueed”?
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