Earlier this year, it was announced that Andy Serkis is going to direct a new ‘Lord of the Rings’ live-action film, titled ‘The Hunt for Gollum,’ with Peter Jackson returning as a producer. Immediately, fans of the franchise started to wonder which familiar faces we’ll see in the cast. And not only that, but how are they going to use the same actors if it’s been more than 20 years since the films were released. Well, apparently, good ol’ technology is the key.
Speaking to Variety, actor Orlando Bloom talked a bit about the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ film. That is to say, he (like Ian McKellen) confirmed that he’d be ready, willing, and able to return as Legolas in the new film, if needed. Not only that, Bloom said he talked to Serkis and asked the very serious question—how is this going to even be possible?
“I really don’t know what [they are planning],” Bloom said. “I did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things. I was like, ‘How would that even work?’ And he was like, ‘Well, A.I.!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’ It was a pretty magical time in my life, and it’s one of those things where there’s not a downside to it.”
Obviously, there would have to be a bit of de-aging to make it so folks like Bloom could show up in the film and not look significantly older. But it’s curious how else A.I. might be used in the film.
Artificial intelligence is such a touchy subject in Hollywood nowadays. Last year, it was reported that A.I. was one of the sticking points in the negotiations surrounding both WGA and SAG strikes. And to be honest, we have yet to fully see how studios plan on using the technology in films.
That said, the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films were always trailblazing in terms of technology use, particularly with how they created the Gollum character. Now that Gollum is getting his own film, you have to assume the very best technology will be used again.
A release date has yet to be revealed for the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ film.
