The saga of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “Middle Earth” will never end. Long after the books were published, movies were made. Then, more movies were made. Now, even more movies are being made by fans and cast members alike. We’ve tried to keep you all abreast of developments. To that end, you may recall there are upcoming Lord of the Rings projects. One being directed by Gollum actor, Andy Serkis. The other being written by Stephen Colbert. Serkis recently opened up a bit about both projects.
Hunting for Casting Diversity
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is Serkis’ upcoming entry to the canon. We’ve talked about some of its casting announcements, including Kate Winslet joining. To that end, some critics have pointed out that the cast is lacking diversity. Middle Earth seems to be looking extremely white. Serkis has noted this critique. He recently stated in an interview, “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.”
What does that mean for the rest of the cast? No idea. It’s kind of a vague statement. Ultimately, directors and casting directors will hire who they want. Maybe they should be using more diversity but ultimately consumers can always send a message with their wallet.
Serkis and Colbert’s Separate Films
Otherwise, the film is set to focus on a time period between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It’s said to focus on Gollum’s psychology and the origins of the One Ring. Meanwhile, that other upcoming film that Colbert is writing? Serkis confirms he’s not directing it. Serkis notes, “That’s going to be a fascinating story too. I know it’s something that Stephen’s very, very excited about being part of.” As he should be. Colbert is one of the biggest mainstream Tolkien fans in the world. It’ll be interesting to see what he cooks up.
There are no signs of the Tolkien universe slowing down. As projects continued to be pumped out, we can only hope the quality of them stacks up against the original Peter Jackson trilogy. That’s a high standard, but Serkis and Colbert have the credentials to make it happen.
