Andy Serkis’ breakout role was that of a CGI character, but it was also a performance that was so good that it sparked debate on whether it should be considered for awards or not. Since the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out in the early aughts, Serkis became the go-to motion capture actor, following up with King Kong, where he played Kong, and the Planet of the Apes movies. When it was announced that Warner Bros. would be making a new series of Lord of the Rings films, it was said that it would be set during the Third Age, which means Gollum is alive and well. Well, alive anyway.
Andy Serkis tells The Hollywood Reporter that he would be interested in becoming involved with the production of the new films, especially since Peter Jackson has said that the studio is keeping him and his writing team deeply involved. “I adore those guys, and they are a second family to me. I’ve spent so many years making films with them. I love their sensibility and their take; it’s filmmaking on a different kind of level. You live and breathe it. And so, yes, if some opportunity were to come up, it would be an amazing thing.”
Serkis doesn’t necessarily specify whether or not he’d be interested in reprising the Gollum role since he can always motion capture as other characters in the Tolkien universe. He may not even need to motion capture at all since he’s also become an on-screen actor in many roles since the original Lord of the Rings. He was able to play the CGI Lord Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as well as make an appearance as Kino Loy in the Andor Disney+ series.
Warner Bros. film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have stated that the new Lord of the Rings films are intended to be fresher stories and not draw too much on the former films so they would not be repeating what Peter Jackson has already done. “Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to realize the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen. The result was a landmark series of films that have been embraced by generations of fans. But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film.”
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