Director Andy Serkis said in a recent interview with the BBC that the new Lord of the Rings movie The Hunt for Gollum will “somewhat acknowledge” the franchise’s lack of diversity. The film, which is currently in production, currently features an all-white cast including Jamie Dornan, Anna Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, Lee Pace, Leo Woodall, Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen, with Serkis announced to be returning in the title role. The BBC asked Mr Serkis why.
“Tolkien himself was heavily influenced by Norse mythology, so there’s a lot of that feel,” Serkis explained of the lack of diversity. “The Shire feels very, very, very white-like. You know, they don’t really worry about what’s going on beyond the borders of the Shire, but you know they don’t want people coming in.”
“Yes, there has been criticism,” Serkis added. “This movie kind of acknowledges that. But I don’t think we’re going to make a politically correct version of this movie that’s just casting and just casting to check the box. So that’s basically what’s appropriate.”
Additional cast members for “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” have not yet been announced. The Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” previously faced backlash from racist Tolkien fans due to its diverse casting. The outrage became so great that Jackson’s Lord of the Rings cast members Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan came together on social media to support the show’s inclusive casting. The trio wore shirts featuring the ears of Middle-earth creatures of various skin tones.
The Ring of Power cast members later issued a joint statement condemning the “relentless racism, intimidation, harassment and abuse that some of our castmates of color are subjected to on a daily basis.”
“Tolkien created a world that was, by definition, multicultural,” the statement reads. “A world where free people from different races and cultures come together to defeat the forces of evil. ‘Ring of Power’ reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, and Middle-earth has never been all white.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will be released in theaters on December 17, 2027.
