Andy Serkis, the actor who brought Gollum to life and is now directing a new Lord of the Rings film, has defended the all-white cast of the upcoming The Hunt for Gollum, saying JRR Tolkien's world is rooted in 'Norse mythology' and 'the Shire feels very, very much like a very white' place.
Speaking from New Zealand, where he is both directing and starring in the film scheduled for Christmas next year, Serkis acknowledged the lack of diversity in the cast so far. Every major announcement has been white: Kate Winslet, Jamie Dornan, Anya Taylor-Joy, Leo Woodall, alongside returning stars Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen.
“Andy Serkis defends all-white Lord of the Rings cast, citing Tolkien's Norse influences.”
'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,' Serkis said, pausing before adding: 'Yes, there have been criticisms.'
The 62-year-old, who has been a vocal campaigner for equality and said in 2018 that being one of the few white actors in Black Panther gave him a new understanding of being an ethnic minority on set, appeared to wrestle with the question. 'Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology, there's a lot of that feeling,' he said, trailing off before finding firmer ground.
The Hunt for Gollum sits 'absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies', Serkis explained. 'It is very much a deep dive into the psychology and history of Gollum before he became Gollum, but also with a very burning question from Gandalf about what the potential origin of this ring that Bilbo Baggins has is.' The hunt, he revealed, 'takes place in two different dimensions really and that's about as far as I can say at the moment.'
Serkis will not direct the second new Lord of the Rings film, Shadow of the Past, written by US chat show host Stephen Colbert. 'I think that post has been taken, put it that way,' Serkis said with a twinkle, adding: 'That's going to be a fascinating story too. I know it's something that Stephen's very, very excited about being part of.'
The previous Lord of the Rings films, made before colour-blind casting became common, had almost entirely white line-ups. Whether Serkis's defence will satisfy critics remains to be seen, but for now the cast of The Hunt for Gollum stands as white as Tolkien's Shire.
Image source, Getty Images: Jamie Dornan, Kate Winslet and Anya Taylor-Joy will all star in the new Lord of the Rings.