The Hunt for Gollum Filmmakers Address Other Lord of the Rings Characters Appearing

The announcement that Andy Serkis would both star in and direct the spinoff The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum initially excited fans because of the beloved character’s return, which then sparked speculation about whether we’ll be seeing any other figures from the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy making appearances. Serkis and Peter Jackson, who directed the original trilogy and will serve as a producer on The Hunt for Gollum, weighed in on those theories among fans, teasing that it was too early in the process of developing the spinoff to confirm one way or another.

“The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic,” Jackson confirmed to Deadline. “I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there’s a little bit of both of them in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films. It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.” 

While fans will understandably be curious about familiar characters showing up in the new project, Serkis addressed the possibility of former collaborators getting involved in the project in any capacity, which would include taking on new roles.

“That’s a difficult question to answer right at this moment in time, because we’re really in the nascent stages of what it is exactly where we’re doing, and where the story’s going to take us,” Serkis confirmed of whether he’ll reunite with former on-screen collaborators. “So I don’t want to commit anything right now. I mean, because it’s so raw and so raw and wriggling, and we are just literally having very early state script discussions and ideas of exactly where and how we’re going to drop anchor with the character and his journey and how he is or comes into contact with other characters, and the characters that we know and don’t know. So still, I would hate to say anything that’s going to commit us at this point, because it’s literally all up for grabs.”

Despite The Lords of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum having a 2026 release date, no story details about what the film will explore have been revealed. Stay tuned for updates on The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Do you hope familiar characters return for the spinoff? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!