Actor-Director Andy Serkis Says 'The Hunt for Gollum' Will Favor Tolkien Over DEI

I love classical literature, and also enjoy watching how each generation seeks to reenvision these classics. "Hamlet" and "Much Ado About Nothing" are two of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and I have probably watched more than my share of stage and screen reenactments, each with the director and actors putting their unique stamp on the Bard's plot and prose.

I am not saying these reenvisioning efforts always succeed. Case in point, the disaster that is Christopher Nolan's reinterpretation of "The Odyssey." A huge part of the problem comes when the creative artists toss out history, ignore reality, and disregard cultural influence in order to make a political statement.

Think about it: There's a reason why no one has attempted to reenvision the 1977 miniseries, "Roots," or the 2013 film, "12 Years A Slave," with Kunta Kinte or Solomon Northup as white people, and the plantation owners and slave traders as Black. Nor would they dare to redo the powerful 1978 NBC miniseries, "The Holocaust," with Jews as the Nazis and the other German folk as the ones being ethnically cleansed. Not only would it be historically inaccurate, but also insulting. But the leftist culture warriors do this far too often with historical and cultural tales. Their push to reenvision removes the weight of historical lessons, ignores the unique lens of that culture, as well as the progress and gains, and ultimately diminishes whatever new narrative is attempting to be pushed.

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Andy Serkis, the seminal talent who brought "Gollum" to life in the 2001 trilogy of author J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," plans to direct the latest reenvisioning of the saga. "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" is slated for December 2027, and will reunite the revered Middle-earth characters of Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Frodo (Elijah Wood), with Serkis not only recreating "Gollum," but also taking the reins as director.

But Serkis told the BBC that his aim will not be to tick political boxes or push cultural nonsense in order to serve a Woke agenda or make a statement.

Andy Serkis has said his Lord Of The Rings film The Hunt For Gollum will address concerns about diversity "where relevant” and without just "ticking boxes" during an interview with the BBC.
The BBC asked the veteran actor and director about what they described as a "lack of diversity" in the Lord Of The Rings film franchise and asked Serkis why his LoR film The Hunt For Gollum has so far only announced white actors as its main cast.
"Tolkien himself was influenced a lot by Norse mythology; there’s a lot of that feeling," Serkis told the BBC. “The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know…”
Serkis continued: “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."
He then conceded that there "have been criticisms" and added that: “This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But we 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 only where relevant basically.”

Here are the key takeaways: Serkis is interested in telling a historically focused and entertaining story, not trying to cram the characters into modern-day, politically correct boxes. Therefore, his casting won't be a laundry list of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Gollum's struggle is not going to be a metaphor for the LGBTQ plus all the letters struggle, and John Boyega won't be taking Elijah Wood's place to portray "Frodo."

Thank God. At least one creative visionary thinks that relevance and source material matter more than Woke agendas. The artists who remain influential and relevant are the ones who take this approach.

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