• Peter Jackson says Todd Phillips’ Joker — specifically its deep dive into Arthur Fleck’s psychology — inspired the approach to The Hunt for Gollum
• The film, directed by Andy Serkis, is set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and follows Aragorn tracking Gollum on Gandalf’s orders
• Jackson is producing but deliberately stepped back from directing, believing Serkis knows the character better than anyone
• The story draws from the appendices of Tolkien’s novels, covering Gollum’s childhood, his addiction, and his eventual capture in Mordor
• The Hunt for Gollum hits theaters December 17, 2027

Peter Jackson has a pretty unexpected touchstone for his return to Middle-earth — and it involves Joaquin Phoenix in facepaint.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who is producing The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, told IndieWire that Todd Phillips’ 2019 origin story Joker served as a key inspiration for the upcoming film — specifically the way it burrowed deep into a character’s fractured psychology while still telling a coherent story.

“We were thinking about the original Joker film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix,” Jackson said. “The way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story. We’ve got the story that’s in the appendices, and we’ll tell that story, but we’ll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective. You’re taking written things by Tolkien and filming them from a certain POV, and that means you have to get inside his head.”

Then, with a laugh: “I’ve got no particular desire to get inside Gollum’s head. Andy Serkis can do that himself.”

What the Film Is Actually About

Set in the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Hunt for Gollum follows Aragorn, tasked by Gandalf to track the creature down before Sauron can learn from him the location of the One Ring. But the film’s emotional core runs deeper than a chase story.

Jackson explained that the source material comes from the appendices tucked at the back of Tolkien’s novels — fifty or sixty pages of notes, backstory, and side narratives that never made it into the main text.

“The Lord of the Rings has got these big appendices at the end,” he said. “Little side stories, embellishments, enlargements — and part of The Hunt for Gollum is described in that. Gollum’s childhood and how he became what he was. Him trying to get to the Shire, and the Rangers tracking him down. He ends up being captured and taken to Mordor — it’s all in the appendices.”

The production is legally cleared to adapt anything from the Lord of the Rings books, Jackson confirmed — a meaningful distinction given the complicated rights landscape around Tolkien’s work. A second film, The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past, co-written by Stephen Colbert, is also in the pipeline and will adapt unseen elements from The Fellowship of the Ring via flashback.

Why Jackson Handed the Camera to Serkis

After directing six films set in Middle-earth across the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy, Jackson made the deliberate choice to step back from the director’s chair — and his reasoning is genuinely hard to argue with.

“I could have directed it, but I thought, ‘I’ve done that,'” he told Deadline at Cannes, where he received an honorary Palme d’Or earlier this week. “The more exciting version of this movie is if Andy Serkis made it.”

He expanded on that to IndieWire: “I honestly, truly believe that if it’s a film about Gollum’s addiction and internal struggles, Andy would make a much more interesting film than me. If I thought I’d do a better film, I’d do it. But I thought, there’s a guy that’s going to make a really interesting film here and it’s not me.”

The logic is hard to dispute. Serkis has inhabited Gollum across multiple films, building a performance that became a landmark in motion-capture acting. He’s also an experienced director in his own right, having helmed Venom: Let There Be Carnage and an adaptation of Animal Farm. Jackson says he’s fully stepping aside — not hovering. “I’m here to help where I can. But I don’t interfere. I’ve given him as much freedom as I can.”

Serkis putting Gollum’s psychology on screen from the inside out, drawing on two decades of living with that character — if the Joker comparison holds, that’s a genuinely compelling proposition. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum opens December 17, 2027.

The post Peter Jackson Reveals Joker Inspired The Hunt for Gollum appeared first on Cream.

• Ian McKellen is reprising his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis
• McKellen joked at a London Q&A that even he was surprised more Middle-earth stories were being made
• He called Gandalf a rare kind of role — “a good man” — in contrast to the villains he often enjoys playing
• The film also brings back Elijah Wood and Lee Pace, with Jamie Dornan replacing Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
• The Hunt for Gollum is set for December 17, 2027

Ian McKellen is heading back to Middle-earth — and he’s the first to admit he didn’t quite see it coming. The legendary actor, who played Gandalf across all six of Peter Jackson’s live-action Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, confirmed his return in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum during a Q&A in London for his new film The Christophers. And he did it with the kind of dry wit you’d expect from a man who’s been playing wizards for over two decades.

“I’m going back to do more Gandalf,” McKellen told the audience, attended by GamesRadar+. “Who would have thought there was more? The person who thought there was more was Andy Serkis, and he’s going to be directing Gollum’s early life.”

It’s a cheeky line — but if anyone’s earned the right to be cheeky about Lord of the Rings, it’s McKellen.

Why Gandalf Means Something Different to McKellen

The comment came as part of a longer answer about what kinds of roles he’s drawn to at this stage in his career. McKellen’s response was honest, thoughtful, and a little unexpected. When asked whether he prioritizes one type of role over another, he said no — but then gave a window into exactly what excites him about the craft.

“It’s always nice to play the baddie, you know,” he said. “The devil has the best shoes. Only occasionally, you play a good man like Gandalf, but they don’t come along very often.”

He went on: “Am I looking for something in particular? No, I think I’m always looking for a script that will resonate beyond itself. It’s not just a simple story, not just an Agatha Christie… something more complicated that will make an audience, as I like to when I’m in the cinema or in the theater for a play, lean forward, gasp, laugh, a day to think about, talk about. I think, when I do, at this point, what I’m looking for is something that nobody else has ever done.”

For a man who’s about to reprise both Gandalf and Magneto — he’s also returning as the X-Men villain in Avengers: Doomsday — that tension between good and evil is clearly something he finds genuinely interesting, not just professionally convenient.

What The Hunt for Gollum Is Actually About

The film picks up in the years between Bilbo Baggins’ famous birthday party and the Fellowship’s ill-fated journey through the Mines of Moria — a stretch of untold story that screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have described as “quite an intense” period in the mythology. Gandalf and Aragorn are both searching for Gollum to uncover the truth about the One Ring, while Sauron’s forces close in behind them.

Serkis, who originated the role of Gollum and is now stepping behind the camera for the first time in this universe, will also reprise his motion-capture role. Walsh and Boyens are writing, with Peter Jackson producing alongside them and Zane Weiner. Ken Kamins will executive produce, along with Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium.

McKellen isn’t the only familiar face returning. Elijah Wood is back as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace returns as elven king Thranduil, a role he played in The Hobbit trilogy. The big casting shake-up is at the center of the story: Viggo Mortensen will not return as Aragorn. Instead, Jamie Dornan — best known for Fifty Shades of Grey and The Fall — steps into the role of Strider.

Serkis addressed the recasting carefully when asked about it recently. “I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for further down the line,” he said. “We’re at a crunch stage now, we’re just about to start shooting. So, I’m going to save all discussion about casting, other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie’s doing it. We’re absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo.”

Shooting is set to take place in New Zealand, keeping the production anchored in the same landscapes that defined Jackson’s original trilogy. A second new film, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past — co-written by Stephen Colbert — is also in development, though details on that project remain sparse and McKellen’s involvement hasn’t been confirmed.

McKellen mentioned at the Q&A that he has a play lined up for “when I come back from Middle-earth” — a production exploring his connection to King Lear. The man is, in every sense, not slowing down.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum arrives in theaters on December 17, 2027.

The post Ian McKellen on Returning as Gandalf: ‘A Good Man Like That Doesn’t Come Along Often’ appeared first on Cream.