Peter Jackson says The Lord of the Rings Gollum movie explores territory “we didn’t have time to cover” in the original trilogy
“It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien”
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Therecently announced Lord of the Rings Gollum moviewill cover parts of the titular former hobbit’s backstory that the filmmakers didn’t have time to delve into in the original trilogy.
Speaking toDeadline, Peter Jackson, director of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and producer on the Gollum adapt, said theupcoming moviewill give fans a look at Sméagol’s backstory and other parts of his story that the filmmakers only now have the time to explore.
“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 said. “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.”
Gollum, whose real name is Sméagol, was a Stoorish Hobbit who murdered his relative Déagol in order to get his hands on the One Ring, after which his obsession slowly transformed him into the gangly snake of a creature we hate to love in The Lord of the Rings.
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav announced in a recent earnings call that the Gollum movie will kickstart a whole new batch of live-action Lord of the Rings movies when it releases in 2026.
Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is reprising the role for The Hunt for Gollum (working title) and is also directing the pic. It’ll be the first major live-action movie set in-universe since 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
Catch up with our guide onhow to watch The Lord of the Rings movies in orderand our breakdown ofThe Lord of the Rings timeline. And here’s the lowdown onThe Rings of Power season 2.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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