It’s far from uncommon these days for a Hollywood studio to announce the return of a beloved franchise to the big screen with new installments, but it was still a shock when it was announced that we would be getting not one, but two new Lord of the Rings movies from producer Peter Jackson. The first planned film, The Hunt for Gollum, will star and be directed by Andy Serkis, but he’s not the only member of the original cast who will be returning.
Last year, during a public appearance, Sir Ian McKellen seemingly spilled the beans by stating that both Gandalf and Frodo would appear in the new movie. Elijah Wood was there at the time and had a smile on his face, though he said nothing. When asked at Fan Expo New Orleans about his “theoretical” return, the actor (via ScreenRant) said…
I can neither confirm nor deny. Listen, a wizard is to be trusted. Aside from any of that, I'm not really allowed to confirm. I'm really excited about the film. I think it really is a creative "getting the band back together." A lot of the creative heads of department are back and in that space again. Philippa [Boyens], I think, is co-writing it and producing it. It's very much that core original group getting back together to tell this story that will feel like a really fun exploration of this character that we all love so much.
While Elijah Wood is clearly having some fun with the whole thing, he seems to clearly confirm his return, if a “wizard is to be trusted” without actually saying he’ll be back, likely because if he’s under contract, he’s not allowed to say he’s in it, at least not yet.
One thing Wood can discuss is how excited he is that Andy Serkis will direct The Hunt for Gollum. He thinks it's perfect that Serkis will direct a film focused on the character that he helped create in live-action, and he’s looking forward to the continued expansion of The Lord of the Rings in whatever form that takes. Wood said…
I'm excited for Andy to direct it. It feels so unbelievably appropriate that he directs a film about his character that he has really made his own. I'm thrilled. It'll be great. And I'm excited to see...I know their intention is to make other films in this universe. And that's exciting, interesting to see where that goes, but very exciting.
When The Hunt for Gollum was first announced, we were told two Lord of the Rings films were on the way. It’s unclear if they’ll be connected or separate standalone features, but either way, it seems clear that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings will live on, and while we may not know officially who will be back in the new movies, there will likely be plenty of work for the original cast for any who want to go back to Middle earth.
