By tf-lawyer.com A film focused on the wizard’s quest for Gollum is on the horizon, and it seems there might even be another one in the works. Will he confront a Balrog, seek out the Entwives, or simply wander around in confusion?
In a recent conversation, screenwriter Philippa Boyens set the record straight about the rumors that Peter Jackson’s upcoming project, *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum*, would consist of two films. “I can tell you definitively it isn’t two films,” Boyens shared in the latest issue of *Empire*. “That was a genuine misunderstanding. We’ve started working conceptually on two different live-action films. The first is *The Hunt for Gollum*, and the second one is still to be confirmed.”
The speculation began after Sir Ian McKellen mentioned during an interview that the film would be releasing in two parts. This led to amusing fears about director Andy Serkis potentially giving us an extensive montage of Aragorn wandering through various landscapes in a quest for Gollum. However, Boyens clarified that while there are indeed two live-action movies in development that will feature Gandalf, McKellen may have misunderstood the situation.
This raises the intriguing question: what could the second movie be about? With Amazon heavily investing in its own adaptations of Middle-earth history, including a two-season series that sets the stage for the creation of the One Ring, fans have plenty of ideas. For instance, *The Rings of Power* features a character who may or may not be Gandalf, spending countless hours wandering around Rhovanion and Rhûn alongside hobbit-like companions, yet we’re still not through to the third season.
Imagining new storylines, one could envision a film focused on a lesser-known title, like *Gandalf’s Guide to Middle-earth’s Great Eagles*, possibly appealing more to audiences than yet another version of Gollum’s tale. If the market is primed for another lengthy film that revisits narrative threads from Jackson’s original trilogy, why not create *The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf vs. the Balrog*? It could showcase a grueling, nearly real-time showdown between the wizard and the iconic fiery demon, filled with spectacular battles that might even make Jackson blush.
Alternatively, how about *The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf and the Search for the Entwives*? In this story, Gandalf finally yields to Treebeard’s persistent pleas and embarks on a quest to find the lost female Ents, who are hidden away and fiercely protected by a collective of dryads. The resulting clash could overshadow even the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
Ultimately, at this point, Jackson and his team could likely craft a loose narrative surrounding Gandalf’s adventures—maybe even a trip to a new wellness retreat in Rivendell—without facing much backlash. While *The Lord of the Rings* was once thought to be unfilmable, today, as long as there’s a mention of a ring and characters looking concerned in a forest, audiences are ready to embrace the magic once again. Whether this is a positive development depends on one’s view of Middle-earth: as a glorious tapestry of epic fantasy or simply a tale of people lost in the woods with a talkative wizard sporting a pointy hat and a big stick.
