The Lord of the Rings’ Biggest Issue Finally Addressed by Andy Serkis Ahead of ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

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The Lord of the Rings’ Biggest Issue Finally Addressed by Andy Serkis Ahead of ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

As far as fantasy worlds go, Middle-earth is right up there with the very best of them. Without much doubt, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is

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As far as fantasy worlds go, Middle-earth is right up there with the very best of them. Without much doubt, J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings is the most influential work of high fantasy ever created, and the same can be said of Peter Jackson‘s trilogy as well. The trilogy’s depiction of Middle-earth was elite, setting the bar for state-of-the-art fantasy and is seen as the genre’s peak. After years of different attempts to expand The Lord of the Rings beyond the confines of Jackson’s original trilogy, a return to Middle-earth is speedy approaching. Warner Bros.’ long-awaited return to Middle-earth will soon be attained with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which is set to arrive on December 17, 2027.

A return to the magnetic and ethereal surroundings of that world would be brilliant to say the list even as the film chronicles a story we are familiar with. Detailing the events before The Fellowship of the Ring, the film is expected to follow Aragorn’s search for Gollum after the wizard, Gandalf, perceives that his friend, Bilbo’s venerable ring could potentially be a lot more perilous than it looks. The upcoming fantasy film is directed by Andy Serkis, who also returns to play Gollum through motion capture and the actor was quizzed on a particular subject in a recent interview. Overall, one thing is certain. Tolkien is for everyone. Has been and always will be.

So, it is not surprising that The Lord of the Rings‘ perceived lack of diversity has been a subject to quiz Serkis on ahead of his Lord of the Rings film, The Hunt For Gollum. In an interview with the BBC, the director was questioned on some fan criticism of Serkis’ Hunt for Gollum cast, which so far only consists of white actors. Serkis himself, according to the BBC itself, who has been a campaigner for equality across his decades-spanning career, says his film will address diversity “where relevant” and without just “ticking boxes.” “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology; there’s a lot of that feeling,” Serkis told the BBC. “The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know…” Adding: “They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in.” He does concede that there “have been criticisms,” adding that: “This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But we don’t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant basically.”

Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz
Which Lord of the Rings
Race Do You Belong To?

Hobbit · Elf · Dwarf · Man · Orc

Middle-earth is home to many peoples — the courageous, the historic, the stubborn, the ambitious, and the wretched. Ten questions will determine which race truly claims your soul. The answer may surprise you. Or it may confirm what you already suspected.

🌿Hobbit

🌟Elf

⚒️Dwarf

⚔️Man

💀Orc

01

What does your ideal day look like?
How we rest reveals as much as how we fight.






02

How do you feel about the passing of time?
Our relationship with mortality shapes everything we value.






03

Danger is approaching. Your first instinct is to:
Fight, flight, or something in between — it’s more revealing than you’d think.






04

You stumble upon a great treasure. What do you feel?
What we desire — and what we do about it — is the true test.






05

How critical is community and belonging to you?
No race of Middle-earth is truly alone — but some prefer it that way.






06

How ambitious are you, honestly?
Ambition is neither virtue nor vice — it depends entirely on what you want.






07

Where do you feel most at home in the natural world?
Middle-earth is huge — and every race has its place within it.






08

What kind of strength do you most respect?
Every race defines strength differently — and they’re all at least a little right.






09

What do you want to leave behind when you’re gone?
Legacy is the story we tell ourselves about why any of this matters.






10

Be candid — what do you actually want most out of life?
The truest question always comes last.






Middle-earth Has Spoken
You Belong To…

The race that claimed the most of your answers is your true kin. If two tied, both are shown — you walk between worlds.

◆ A TIE — YOU WALK BETWEEN TWO RACES ◆

🌿

Your Race

The Hobbits

You are, at your core, a creature of comfort, community, and serene joy — and there is nothing miniature about that. Hobbits are proof that heroism does not require ambition, that the bravest heart can beat inside the most unassuming chest. You value good food, toasty hearths, close friends, and a world that stays largely untroubled by murky lords and quests. When adventure does find you — and it will — you rise to it not because you sought it, but because the people you love needed you to. That is not ordinary. That is the rarest kind of courage in all of Middle-earth.

🌟

Your Race

The Elves

Ancient, graceful, and carrying a weight of memory most mortals cannot fathom, you are one of the Elves. You see the world in its fullness — its beauty, its impermanence, the unbearable ache of watching everything you love eventually fade. You pursue perfection not from pride, but because excellence is how you honour the time you have been given. Others may see you as remote or melancholy. They are not wrong, exactly. But they mistake depth for distance. You feel everything — which is precisely why you have learned to carry it so quietly.

⚒️

Your Race

The Dwarves

Stubborn, proud, fiercely true, and possessed of a work ethic that would exhaust most other races before breakfast — you are Dwarf-kind through and through. You do not ask for approval and you do not offer it cheaply. Your loyalty, once given, is given for life. Your grudges last longer. You love deeply and defend ferociously, and the things you build — with your hands, with your sweat, with generations of accumulated craft — are made to last. Not for glory. Because anything worth doing is worth doing properly, and you have never once done anything by half measures.

⚔️

Your Race

The Race of Men

Mortal, ambitious, flawed, and magnificent — you belong to the most complicated race in Middle-earth, and that complexity is your greatest strength. Men are capable of cowardice and extraordinary bravery, of cruelty and breathtaking sacrifice, sometimes within the same breath. You feel the urgency of your finite years, and it drives you. You want to matter. You want to leave something behind. You fall, and you rise, and the rising is what defines you. Tolkien called mortality the Gift of Men — not a curse, but a fire that burns dazzling precisely because it does not burn forever. That fire is you.

💀

Your Race

The Orcs

Brutal, survivalist, and contemptuous of anything that can’t defend itself — you answered with the instincts of an Orc, and there is a certain savage honesty in that. You do not dress up your desires in polite language or pretend you want things you don’t. You want power, survival, and to never be at the bottom of any hierarchy ever again. Orcs are not evil by nature — they were made from something that was once good, and broken into this shape by forces they did not choose. What remains is fierce, territorial, and deeply aware that the world is not kind. You’ve made your peace with that. The question is what you do with it.

Who Is Involved in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’?

Serkis’ comments come amidst a storm of criticism within certain quarters for Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming epic, The Odyssey, whose casting choices have been questioned for different reasons. Besides Serkis, the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum also includes Ian McKellen (X-Men) as Gandalf the Grey, Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Thranduil, and Jamie Dornan (Belfast) as Aragorn, replacing the beloved Viggo Mortensen. Kate Winslet (Titanic), Leo Woodall (The White Lotus), and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) as Seren have also been cast. Serkis directs from a screenplay by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou and the original innovative team behind Jackson’s trilogy: Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens are also producing.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 17, 2027.



Release Date

December 17, 2027

Writers

Arty Papageorgiou, Phoebe Gittins, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien

Franchise(s)

The Lord of the Rings