More casting news for Andy Serkis’ ‘The Hunt for Gollum,’ which seems to be heating up in pre-production, with the cast and crew arriving in New Zealand this month for filming.
The much-rumored Anya Taylor-Joy has now been confirmed to join the cast of ‘Gollum.’ She is set to portray Seren, a character I haven’t heard of before. Perhaps she was created solely for the purpose of this film? I don’t know about you, but she could definitely pull off playing one of the elves.
UPDATE: According to Variety, Seren is an elf.
Taylor-Joy is best known for her standout roles in both film and television. She gained widespread acclaim for her breakthrough performance in Robert Eggers’ “The Witch.” She then starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split” and its follow-up, “Glass.” However, she captured global attention as the chess prodigy Beth Harmon in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit” and has since joined Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ franchise.
This latest update comes after most of the main cast was announced back in April. Elijah Wood is returning as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Lee Pace as Thranduil and Serkis as Sméagol/Gollum. Newcomers include Kate Winslet as Marigold, and Jamie Dornan will be replacing Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn/Strider.
‘The Hunt for Gollum’ is set during the era of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” shortly before Frodo Baggins leaves the Shire for Rivendell. The film begins with Gandalf sending Aragorn on a quest to find Gollum.
Rumor has it that ‘Gollum’ might actually be the start of an entirely new LOTR trilogy. We’ve already had two trilogies: the first being the iconic films released in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and the second being the much-divisive ‘Hobbit’ trilogy.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2027.