Warner Bros recently revealed a new ‘The Lord Of Rings’ movie titled ‘The Hunt For Gollum’. This title may sound familiar to LOTR fans. That’s because a fan-made short film with an exact same title already exists.
An indie filmmaker, Chir Bouchard made this short film all the way back in 2009. The budget for this short film was $5000 and it currently has more than 13 million views. However, WB can use this title since it wasn’t an authorized production.
Legally, it is ok, but morally, it falls in a grey area. Fans have raised some questions to Warner Bros. about using this title.
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Warner Bros. Issues Copyright Strike On Fan-Made Short Film
Less than a day after announcing ‘The Lord Of Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’, Warner Bros issued a copyright strike on the movie that was on YouTube for 15 years. This copyright lead to YouTube removing the movie from the platform.
Many fans are furious as Warner Bros has taken away something that they loved. Bouchard’s’ The Hunt For Gollum’ was based on the ‘The Fellowship Of The Ring’. It is a 39-minute short film. The short film features Gandalf commanding a hunt for Gollum to get information about Frodo’s ring. It was a great small watch ending with Gandalf interrogating him.
Many fans in the LOTR community believe that this short film inspired WB for this movie. It is unclear if they will lift the copyright strike.
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Andy Serkis Returns As Gollum In ‘The Lord Of Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’
Warner Bros announced ‘The Lord Of Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’ this Thursday after their Q1 meeting. It will be the first movie of the upcoming new series of ‘Lord Of The Rings’ movies. The primary focus of this one will be on Andy Serkis’ Gollum.
Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca And Pam Abdy talked about the legacy of ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Trilogy. They said. “For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision.”
They later thanked the producers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens for returning for future LOTR projects. They said, “We are honored they have agreed to be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history.”
‘The Lord Of Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’ is expected to follow the same plot as in Bouchard’s ‘ The Hunt For Gollum’. Elijah Wood and Sean Austin will play the roles of Frodo and Sam respectively. The movie is slated to release in 2026.
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