Andy Serkis is back in Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and yes, AI is along for the ride — but only in a very small, very specific way.
What Serkis actually said
In a July 13 Variety interview, Serkis — who is directing the prequel and returning as Gollum — said the production will use artificial intelligence strictly for de-aging. Machine learning is part of that workflow, but he drew a hard line on broader AI involvement.
"Not at present, other than some of the de-aging. There’s a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters and machine learning is part of the process."
He pointed to Peter Jackson ’s MASSIVE software from the original trilogy — the tool that let thousands of digital orcs make their own decisions in crowd scenes — as a past example of the franchise leaning into cutting-edge tech when it actually serves the story.
No AI-made shots, old-school craft is back
Serkis was clear about this part: they did not use AI to generate any shots in The Hunt for Gollum. The movie is leaning hard on classic, tactile filmmaking — prosthetics, miniatures, the works. His whole aim here is to blend the old and the new, because that mix-and-match approach is the stuff he likes to play with as a filmmaker.
Who is getting de-aged? He would not say
Serkis kept names to himself, but it is not hard to see where the tech might land. The film is a prequel focused on Gollum, set before the events of the original trilogy, and it has some familiar faces back in the mix. It has also been 23 years since the last film in that trilogy hit theaters, which makes de-aging a practical necessity in certain cases.
One small clarification for timeline sticklers: Lee Pace’s Thranduil is a character we met primarily in The Hobbit films, not the original trilogy, even though he is listed among the returning Middle-earth veterans here.
- Andy Serkis returns as Gollum and directs The Hunt for Gollum, a prequel exploring the character’s backstory.
- AI/machine learning will be used only for de-aging; no AI-generated shots.
- Classic techniques are back in force: prosthetics, miniatures, and practical craftsmanship.
- Returning cast: Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Lee Pace as King Thranduil.
- New to this franchise chapter: Kate Winslet as Marigol, Leo Woodall as Halvard, Anya Taylor-Joy as Seren, and Jamie Dornan as Strider/Aragorn (replacing Viggo Mortensen).
- Production kicked off in December 2025 and is now in full swing.
Where things stand
The Hunt for Gollum has been drawing attention since cameras started rolling in December 2025, and the AI detail only upped the curiosity factor. The approach here is intentionally narrow: use machine learning to shave off years where it is needed, keep the rest grounded in practical filmmaking, and move on.