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Elijah Wood Defends 'The Hunt for Gollum': No Cash Grab, Just a Legendary Reunion!
Elijah Wood, forever etched in our hearts as Frodo from Lord of the Rings, just gaveThe Hunt for Golluma major boost! He's openly defending this upcoming movie; stating clearly and vehemently why this upcoming production shouldn't be written off as simply a cash-grab attempt by studios desperately hoping for additional profit from previous success.
The Hunt for Gollumis an exciting concept; diving deep into Gollum's adventures; happening in that fascinating time gap—afterBilbo's111th birthday and before theMines of Moria. The director? The legendaryAndy Serkis— the original Gollum himself.This particular detail is important, as Serkis clearly has unique and deeply insightful and specific viewpoints on Gollum’s unique nature that others might never be capable of properly executing, showing just why Serkis himself was chosen to develop that storyline.
In an interview withInverse,Woodmakes it very, very clear: He’s stoked! He calls this entire project “getting the band back together” – in that very special sense, as the original creative minds behindLord of the Rings— the legendary team ofPeter Jackson,Fran Walsh, andPhilippa Boyens— all returning to produce!This isn’t some random attempt. It’s about delivering more quality. Here are some of the things that Wood himself says about the project, showcasing the intense optimism and love for the subject matter which makes the film unique:
His points dismiss that common cynicism aroundLord of the Ringssequels— a totally valid concern, folks! ButWood'scomments focus on exactly why the original creators and its return mean that the cynical concerns were mostly misplaced, highlighting that just sticking to the established history should greatly alleviate any kind of possible concerns surrounding production integrity, creativity and even fan engagement; these would ultimately provide a quality product unlike that generally found through simple sequel and remake efforts.
Wood'spositive attitude makes things pretty clear. He fully supportsThe Hunt for Gollum. And that’s not blind faith!Serkisalready has proven talent (beyond his iconic motion-capture roles!), andJackson’steamensures both that the highest possible production value would be achieved, the integrity would be carefully controlled. A potentialFrodocameo is mentioned, even if unnecessary.
Woodaddresses those cynical reactions head-on and attempts to quell some anticipated reactions from the fanbase which emphasizes his own feelings for the project.The fact that the show exists in a time frame quite close to those events described withinLord of the Ringsdid trigger worries of this movie being some attempt at easy profits and the worries are valid! That's easily understandable!
As massiveLord of the Ringsfans ourselves? We totally agree withWood! Jackson’sadaptations totally nailed the epic scope and magical feel ofTolkien'swork, so having him producing again is incredible. AndSerkisdirecting? That's perfection! As the originalGollum, nobody understands that character better. His ability to execute this will clearly generate new content. We’re hopeful it'll be a deep character study—one that gets that twisted, complicatedGollummind perfectly.
Those cynical comments about this newLord of the Ringsproject have been laid to rest for now! The combined weight and sheer name-recognition brought in from those involved in previous projects alone help show that the concern was ultimately entirely unfounded. It is quite reassuring seeing those original creators and actors working to expand Tolkien's legendarium. The potential? Huge; giving those many existing fans plenty to get excited about! This new movie could add immense value and explore this darker, more intense storyline. So it isn't simply a continuation—but a character study for a very interesting character. Get hyped!