Andy Serkis has defended the casting of his upcoming Lord of the Rings film, saying it won’t include “politically correct” casting purely to tick boxes. The 62-year-old actor is returning as Gollum in The Hunt for Gollum, while also stepping behind the camera to direct the latest instalment in the franchise. Speaking about the project, Serkis said the story “sits absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies” and confirmed filming is now underway in New Zealand. James Veysey/Shutterstock The cast announced so far includes Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall, Jamie Dornan, who is taking over the role of Strider (Aragorn) from Viggo Mortensen, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Original trilogy stars Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen are also returning as Frodo and Gandalf respectively. Every major cast member revealed so far is white. Addressing the casting choices, Serkis told BBC News that Tolkien’s writing was heavily inspired by Norse mythology. “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology, there’s a lot of that feeling. The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know… “They’re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don’t want people coming in.” New Line Cinema Serkis also acknowledged that the franchise has faced criticism over its lack of diversity, saying: “There have been criticisms” and adding that “this particular film is somewhat acknowledging that.” However, he insisted: “But we don’t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant basically.” More casting announcements are expected over the coming months ahead of the film’s planned release in December 2027. It will then be followed by a second new Lord of the Rings movie, Shadow of the Past, which is being written by former US chat show host and Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: James Veysey/Shutterstock Post navigation Next story
