Peter Jackson has directed the entire Middle-earth saga, consisting of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy, but he’s passing the reins to Andy Serkis for The Hunt for Gollum. The director explained why during a speech at Cannes, saying Serkis is the one who knows Gollum better than anyone.

Peter Jackson on The Hunt for Gollum

“I could have directed it, but I thought, I’ve done that,” Jackson said. “It would be more interesting with this particular story –which takes place between Hobbit and Lord of the Rings — if Andy Serkis directed it.“

Jackson continued, “The film is about Gollum’s psychology and addiction. I thought, ‘Andy knows this guy better than anybody.’ So I actually I didn’t think much of me [directing the new movie]. I thought the most exciting version of this movie is if Andy Serkis makes it.“

The Hunt for Gollum Cast

The cast of The Hunt for Gollum was officially revealed at CinemaCon, confirming Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol, Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Lee Pace as Thranduil, and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins.

Jamie Dornan will be stepping into the role of Strider, aka Aragorn, chief of the Northern Dúnedain Rangers, and Leo Woodall will play Halvard, another one of the Dúnedain. Kate Winslet will play Marigol, the matriarch of a settlement of Hobbit-like folk.

While some are upset that Viggo Mortensen won’t be returning as Aragorn, Serkis seems very happy with Dornan and even said that Mortensen approves. “I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for further down the line,” Serkis said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “We’re at a crunch stage now, we’re just about to start shooting. We’re not far off 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.“

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently slated for a December 17, 2027 release.

Should Peter Jackson have directed The Hunt for Gollum, or is Andy Serkis the best choice?