Andy Serkis has spoken about his Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum movie lacking “politically correct” casting. The upcoming project stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Jamie Dornan, and Kate Winslet, among others. Several familiar faces from previous entries in the franchise are also set to return.
What did Andy Serkis say about The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’s casting?
The overall casting update for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has been a subject of curiosity for many. This is especially true because, at the moment, the cast does not include any Black actors.
Besides Taylor-Joy, Dornan, and Winslet, the cast also includes Leo Woodall, along with returning stars Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen. Interestingly, more casting announcements are expected in the coming months for this project.
In an interaction with the BBC, director Andy Serkis, who will reprise the iconic role of Gollum, talked about the lack of diversity in his movie’s current cast. “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology, there’s a lot of that feeling.” Serkis added, “The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know…”
“They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in.”
“Yes, there have been criticisms,” he admitted. He added that the filmmakers were focused on casting characters based on the story’s needs rather than making changes solely to be “politically correct.”
“This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But I 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 where relevant basically.”
Speaking more of the movie, the filmmaker also revealed what fans can expect from the plot. “It sits absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, and books in fact,” said Serkis.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will hit theaters on December 17, 2027.
