The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollumcould extend Gandalf and Galadriel’s 24-year on-screen streak, but what role might they have in the story? Despite Prime Video’s ongoing journey into Middle-earth’s deep, dark history, Warner Bros. has announced it will return to a well-known and beloved Middle-earth era instead.The Lord of the Rings:The Hunt for Gollumwill likely be set between the events of Peter Jackson’sThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Ringsadaptations, with Andy Serkis returning to New Zealand to direct and presumably star.
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s notes,Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sauron hunt for Gollum to prevent him from revealing any information about Frodo or the Ring.This is referenced in Jackson’sThe Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf (Ian McKellen) tells Frodo (Elijah Wood) he failed to find Gollum (Serkis). Having been tortured, Gollum revealed all he knew about the One Ring’s whereabouts, screaming,“Shire, Baggins!“which, as Frodo so shrewdly remarks, will lead Sauron’s Ringwraiths straight to Bag End. Given the story’s place in the timeline, plenty of familiar characters could appear inThe Hunt for Gollum, including two of Middle-earth’s oldest and wisest: Gandalf and Galadriel.
Gandalf & Galadriel Are The Only Characters To Appear In All Live-Action LOTR Projects
Gandalf and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett/Morfydd Clark) are the only Tolkien characters to have appeared in all live-actionLord of the Rings-related productions, including every installment of Jackson’sThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbittrilogies, as well as Prime Video’s appendix-inspired epicThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.Of course, Gandalf and Galadriel were thousands of years old by the time they set sail for the West inThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, so their enduring presence isn’t necessarily surprising, though it is still a remarkable feat.
Not all of Middle-earth’s leading elves and wizards can say the same. Rivendell’s Elrond, for instance, portrayed by Hugo Weaving in Jackson’s movies and Robert Aramayo inThe Rings of Power, missed out on an appearance inThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The wizard Saruman, portrayed with the necessary gravitas by the late Sir Christopher Lee in Jackson’s movies, has not yet had a confirmed role inThe Rings of Power; the series has gone to great lengths to point out similarities between Middle-earth’s greatest betrayer and Rhûn’s Dark Wizard, however.
Gandalf Will Definitely Return In Lord Of The Rings' Next Movie
We know Gandalf will have a role to play inThe Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and not just because the movie’s presumed narrative demands his presence.Sir Ian McKellen revealed that Serkis approached him about reprising his role forGollum, though his involvement has yet to be confirmed. Given Peter Jackson’s participation as a producer andSerkis' promise that the movie will be surprisingbut"very much part of the lore and the feel of the trilogy,“McKellen’s potential involvement makes sense.
It’s been 24 years since McKellen was first seen on screen as Gandalf the Grey inThe Fellowship of the Ring, however, which presents a few visual challenges ifGollumis set to take place just before Bilbo Baggins' 111th birthday. Despite massive special effects advancements, the movie may need to recast Gandalf altogether, just asThe Rings of Powerhas done by casting Daniel Weyman as a “younger” Gandalf.
Though Serkis' movie could largely be told from Gollum’s perspective, it seems unlikely thatThe Huntwon’t also focus on the action-packed and time-sensitive search for Gollum, asGandalf and Aragorn(will Viggo Mortensen return?) race against Sauron’s dark forces to capture the tragic creature. In Tolkien’s works, Gollum searches for Bilbo Baggins after the titular hobbit finds and keeps the One Ring. His search leads him deep into Mirkwood and towards the Lonely Mountain, where he discovers Bilbo’s identity and hears about the Shire.
On his way to the Shire, however, Gollum veers wildly off course and heads to Mordor instead, presumably lured in by Sauron’s power and the lingering connection to the One Ring. Gollum is captured in Mordor and interrogated, revealing his"Shire, Baggins!“information, which kick-starts Frodo’s journey as seen inThe Fellowship of the Ring. Throughout all this,Gandalf has researched Gollum’s and the Ring’s history and asked Aragorn to track the creature down. After Gollum escapes, Aragorn finds Gollum in the Dead Marshesand brings him to Mirkwood, where Gandalf begins his attempt at an interrogation.
If, as we suspect, Mirkwood becomes a central location inThe Hunt for Gollum, characters likeLegolas (Orlando Bloom)and his father, King Thranduil (Lee Pace), could return to the big screen alongside Gandalf and Aragorn. The circumstances of Gollum’s escape from Mirkwood after Gandalf’s departure lead Legolas to travel to Rivendell for Elrond’s Council inThe Fellowship of the Ring.
How Galadriel Could Appear In The Hunt For Gollum
Galadriel may not be directly mentioned in Tolkien’s brief descriptions of the search for Gollum, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t be part of Serkis' upcoming movie. Galadriel has long been one of Gandalf’s most trusted friends and allies. Together with Saruman, Elrond, and Círdan, Master of the Grey Havens (present inThe Rings of Powerseason 2), they were important members of the White Council in the Third Age of Middle-earth, as depicted inThe Hobbitmovies (this wasn’t part of the original novel, but pulled from Tolkien’s notes and appendices).
Galadriel has long been one of Gandalf’s most trusted friends and allies.
This council was meant to share knowledge and discuss potential actions to prevent Sauron’s return. SinceThe Hunt for Gollumwill be primarily concerned with Sauron’s re-emergence and the Dark Lord’s quest for the One Ring, there’s no reason Gandalf couldn’t seek out Galadriel for her counsel or any information the elves of Lothlórien may have gathered concerning Gollum’s whereabouts or Sauron’s forces.
Perhaps she directs Gandalf to the archives in Minas Tirith, or they converse psychically, as they’ve been known to do throughout Jackson’s movies, as Gandalf and Aragorn continue their search. Galadriel appears briefly in Jackson’s adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, as she urges Elrond to send aid to those under siege in Helm’s Deep, yet there is no mention of this in Tolkien’sThe Two Towers.Galadriel’s involvement inThe Hunt for Gollumcould be just as brief and non-canonical.
This Galadriel Streak Would Further Highlight How Much Has Been Added To LOTR Canon
At this point, with a seventh Peter Jackson-related movie adaptation on the way, a distinction should be made between book canon and movie canon. Given the extensive history of Tolkien’s Middle-earth and the nature of adaptations, Tolkien’s legendarium could never be fully seen on screen or adapted with complete accuracy. Galadriel’s involvement in Jackson’sThe Lord of the RingsandHobbitmovies, beyond her book role inThe Fellowship of the Ringand her brief appearance at the end ofReturn of the King, is a small part of how Jackson adapted the story to suit an on-screen narrative.
2012
Takes place 60 years beforeThe Lord of the Rings(Third Age)
2013
Picks up immediately afterAn Unexpected Journey
2014
Picks up immediately afterThe Desolation of Smaug
2001
Takes place 60 years after the events ofThe Hobbit
2027
Set between the events ofFellowshipandThe Two Towers
2002
Picks up immediately afterThe Fellowship of the Ring
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Picks up immediately afterThe Two Towers
Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel has become a bigger part of this era in Middle-earth history than in Tolkien’s originalHobbitandLOTRstories. Keeping her out ofThe Hunt for Gollumnow would be strange, considering Hollywood’s version of canon. Galadriel’s continued role isn’t like the creation of Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) inThe Hobbittrilogy. Galadriel has always been an important figure in Middle-earth. Jackson and Co. just prolonged her influence, and Serkis could do so again inThe Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollumis slated to be released in December 2027.
