Kate Winslet To Join ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’
by Erik Amaya
Middle-earth continues to expand onscreen.
Deadline reports Kate Winslet has joined the cast of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. As the title suggests, the film will center on Aragorn and Gandalf’s attempts to find the miscreant Stoor — also known as Sméagol — in the gap between the Wizard’s departure from Hobbiton to learn the true nature of Bilbo’s magic ring and Frodo learning he now possesses the One Ring. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings film trilogy, returns as the character, but will also direct the film with Jackson producing. Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou provide the script.
Additional returning faces include Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo. It is currently unclear who will play Aragorn.
It is also unclear who Winslet will play … but our resident J.R.R. Tolkien nerd (me) has a few ideas. Since the film may make use of the book’s 16-year gap between Bilbo’s 111th birthday and Frodo’s departure from the Shire, it is possible Winslet may end up as Celebrían, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn (played by Cate Blanchett and Marton Csokas in the LOTR trilogy) and wife to Elrond (Hugo Weaving). Per Tolkien’s lore, she departed to the Undying Lands in the uttermost West after being attacked by Orcs while on her way to Lothlorien. The lore indicates she sailed West hundreds of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, but considering Jackson’s willingness to remix events and ideas from Tolkien’s legendarium, she could be in Rivendell as Gandalf seeks out Aragorn’s aid in finding Gollum before he can reveal the Ring’s location to Sauron. Indeed, Deadline even mentions part of the search predates Bilbo’s party.
Alternatively, Winslet could be portraying an entirely new character who lives along the banks of the River Anduin or, perhaps, a Beorning whose shape-shifting abilities might come in handy. And depending how far back into the past Serkis and the production team want to go, she could even play Aragorn’s mother, Gilraen.
The site also reports filming is expected to begins in New Zealand this May with at least some shooting expected to occur in the UK.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been on the fence about this project since it was announced a few years back. The Hunt for Gollum gets pretty close to a “Young Aragorn” story — the worst-but-most-obvious way to expand LOTR beyond the original three novels. That said, “young” for Aragorn in the scenario means he’ll already by in his 60s at least. And with Gandalf actively on the hunt, there is the chance to build their relationship in greater detail even as they look for their pathetic quarry. Nonetheless, it’s hard to judge if this is the right expansion until footage becomes available.
The film is not yet scheduled for release.
