Peter Jackson explains why he isn't directing the next “Lord of the Rings ”movie

Wesley StenzelWed, May 13, 2026 at 7:14 PM UTC

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Peter Jackson at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Credit: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via GettyKey Points -

Peter Jackson said he "didn't really think about the idea" of directing The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the previous films, is helming the project instead.

"I thought, well, this story would actually be more interesting if Gollum himself directed it — and Andy is about as close as you can get," Jackson said.

Peter Jackson doesn't think he's the right man to helm the next Middle-earth outing.

The King Kong filmmaker discussed why Andy Serkis, whom he directed in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, was taking over as director on the franchise's upcoming installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

"I thought, well, this story would actually be more interesting if Gollum himself directed it — and Andy is about as close as you can get," Jackson said on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where he accepted an honorary Palme d'Or, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"The film is very much an internal story about Gollum's psychology and his sort of addiction. It's a very personal story to Gollum the character. And so I thought, well, Andy knows this guy better than anybody," Jackson said.

Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'
Credit: Everett Collection

Jackson is producing the film, which will see the return of Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, and Lee Pace as Thranduil. Jamie Dornan is taking over from Viggo Mortensen to play Aragorn (credited as "Strider"), while Kate Winslet and Leo Woodall are portraying new characters Marigol and Halvard, respectively.

Jackson said that he never even considered helming the project himself.

"I didn't really think much about the idea of me doing it at all," he said. "I thought the most exciting version of this movie is going to be if Andy Serkis makes it, because he's going to put a Gollum psychology on screen that you cannot imagine."

That said, Jackson also noted that he's happy to assist Serkis, who has previously directed movies like Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Animal Farm.

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"I mean, I'm there to help when I can help," he said. "If I can be of assistance at certain times and answer questions, I'm there. But I don't interfere."

Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis at Jackson's Walk of Fame dedication in 2024
Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Since finishing the Hobbit trilogy in 2014, Jackson has worked exclusively on documentary projects like The Beatles: Get Back and They Shall Not Grow Old. However, at the Cannes event, he revealed that he has plans to return to narrative filmmaking with a sequel to a prior project.

"We're actually writing the next Tintin film now," Jackson said. "The deal was that Steven [Spielberg] directs one and I direct another. So Steven did his film, and then for 15 years I haven't made mine."

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Tintin and Captain Haddock in 'The Adventures of Tintin'
Credit: WETA

Jackson produced 2011's The Adventures of Tintin, in which Serkis portrayed Captain Haddock via performance capture. The filmmaker said he doesn't feel good about how long it has taken him to fulfill his promise to make a sequel to the animated film, which was based on the Belgian comic series by Hergé.

"I feel very awkward about that," Jackson said. "Steven's gracious enough not to sort of push me, but I know that I want to make it right. So I've been working with Fran [Walsh] on another Tintin script. I was writing it in the hotel room here just a couple of days ago."

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum hits theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.

on Entertainment Weekly

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