The Hunt for Gollum will de-age its Lord of the Rings actors
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Director Andy Serkis has confirmed that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will use de-ageing technology on some of its cast, marking a notable use of machine learning in the making of the film. Serkis, who also stars as Gollum, said the technique would apply to "some of the characters" but stopped short of naming them, though he stressed that no other form of AI is being used in production, ruling out generative AI in the process.
The film reunites returning Lord of the Rings actors Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo, both plausible candidates for de-ageing given the story runs concurrently with the original trilogy, likely spanning the period between Bilbo's 111th birthday and Gandalf's return to the Shire. De-ageing has been used in cinema since 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which notably de-aged McKellen alongside Patrick Stewart. Jamie Dornan takes over as Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen, with Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall and Lee Pace (reprising Thranduil) rounding out the cast. Serkis said he also wants to blend the technology with traditional filmmaking craft such as miniatures and prosthetics, and the film is due for release on 17 December 2027.
- Hunt for Gollum will use de-ageing tech, Serkis confirms
- No generative AI used, only de-ageing and machine learning
- Film releases in cinemas on 17 December 2027
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The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is a new film set in Middle-earth, directed by Andy Serkis, who also plays the creature Gollum. It takes place during the same period as the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, before the events of the first film, which means several actors are returning to play younger versions of characters they portrayed decades ago, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo.
To achieve this, the production is using de-ageing technology, a technique that digitally alters an actor's appearance on screen to make them look younger, without replacing them with another performer. This is not a new idea in film-making; it has been used in various productions since the mid-2000s, including in the X-Men franchise. The cast also includes newcomers to the series, such as Jamie Dornan taking over the role of Aragorn.
The film sits within the wider Lord of the Rings franchise, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, which has a large and attentive fanbase sensitive to how faithfully new instalments handle both the source material and the returning cast. How the technology is used, and how transparently, is likely to shape reaction to the finished film when it is released in December 2027.
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Originally published by Polygon as “The Hunt for Gollum will de-age its Lord of the Rings actors”.