Andy Serkis hits back at ‘lack of diversity’ in his new Lord of the Rings film | Films | Entertainment

Original Sméagol star Andy Serkis is currently starring in and directing The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in New Zealand. Set during the time jump at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring, he’s also rejoined by Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo.

Speaking with the BBC, Serkis defended the casting, which would continue the trend of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, but not the diverse casting of the Rings of Power TV series.

The Gollum star and director said: “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.”

Acknowledging there had been backlash to the all-white major cast, he said: “Yes, there have been criticisms. This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. 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.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum hits cinemas on December 17, 2027.