Andy Serkis, who is going to be taking the lead for ‘The Hunt for Gollum’, was recently asked about the ongoing debate surrounding the film. While fans have been excited about the new addition to the franchise, many have pointed out that all of the cast members that have been confirmed are White people. Talking about the issue during one of his latest appearances, Serkis defended his choice, stating that the film is going to “somewhat acknowledge” the lack of diversity in the original work.
Andy Serkis defends casting choices for ‘The Hunt for Gollum’
While in conversation with the BBC, Serkis opened up about his casting choices for the new ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and defended his choice to hire an all-white cast. The actor credited the original writer of the book series and commented, “Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology; there’s a lot of that feeling. The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know… 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.”
Original ‘Lord of the Rings ’ cast express their issues with the recent casting
He further acknowledged that while he was well aware of the ongoing debate and online backlash, he does not wish to care. He added, “Yes, there have been criticisms. This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But I don’t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s where relevant basically.”Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, who are best known for playing the Hobbit trio in the first three films of the franchise, also shared their thoughts about the matter online. The three of them took to their social media accounts to share photos of them wearing a white T-shirt with the Middle-earth creatures in various skin tones on it.They also posted a statement in their post online which read, “Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples from, different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. ‘Rings of Power’ reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white.”
Who has been cast in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’
The cast that has been announced and confirmed as of right now includes names like Jamie Dornan, Anna Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, Lee Pace, Leo Woodall, Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen. Many other cast members for various characters are yet to be announced.‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ chronicles the 17-year time gap between Bilbo’s birthday and Frodo officially leaving the Shire. The plot follows along as Aragorn and Gandalf set out on a journey to find Gollum before he falls into Sauron’s hands, and the location of the One Ring is unveiled to the fallen angelic spirit, the main antagonist of the story.
