In a surprising revelation that reframes one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the decade, Sir Peter Jackson has confirmed that the gritty, psychological chaos of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is the blueprint for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’.
While speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, where he won the Palme d’Or, Jackson said he and writer Fran Walsh used the 2019 DC movie to figure out how to go back to Middle-earth. The result is a film that skips huge battles and instead does a “deep dive” into the broken mind of Sméagol.
Peter Jackson On Joker Inspiration for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Movie
Jackson told IndieWire, “We were thinking about the original Joker film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix. The way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story.” He added, “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.“
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For anyone worried the series is losing its heart, Jackson says the opposite. Instead of repeating the huge war scenes from ‘The Return of the King,’ ‘The Hunt for Gollum‘ will function as a painful character study. Set before ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ the story follows Aragorn as he hunts down the creature before Sauron discovers where the One Ring is. However, audiences will not just watch from the outside; they will be trapped inside Gollum’s head.
Why Andy Serkis Is Directing
This is why Jackson, who directed the original Oscar-winning trilogy, has handed the director’s job to the film’s star, Andy Serkis.
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“I’ve got no particular desire to get inside Gollum’s head,” Jackson said with a laugh. “Andy Serkis can do that himself.” He added, “If it’s a film about Gollum’s addiction and internal struggles, Andy would make a much more interesting film than me.“
‘The Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum’ Release Date
The movie comes out on December 17, 2027. It pulls directly from about 50 to 60 pages of Tolkien’s appendices. Those pages cover Gollum’s childhood, his trip to the Shire, and when the Rangers of the North finally catch him. With Serkis directing a script co-written by Jackson and Walsh, and with Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood said to be coming back, this isn’t a rehash of old stuff.
Instead, Jackson sees it as a dark, internal horror movie about addiction dressed up as fantasy. By looking at the Clown Prince of Crime, Jackson found the way into the sad creature of the Misty Mountains.
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