Not everyone is happy about this.

When it comes to epic tales of adventure it doesn’t get much better than J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring universe whether it’s novels or movie adaptations.

Just because a novel is great doesn’t always mean that a TV series or movie will be an equal adaptation. Just take a look at most video game to movie adaptations and other than a few exceptions such as Fallout and The Last of Us, that quality has rarely transcended.

However, following on from the success of Peter Jackon’s The Lord of the Rings movies which began with The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, we’re getting a prequel movie currently scheduled to be released in 2026 with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is being directed by Andy Serkis who plays the character formerly known as Sméagol in the movies with Peter Jackson returning as a producer. The Hunt for Gollum will be a prequel and a standalone tale from the J.R.R. Tolkien novels.

Other than being a prequel and being centred around the origins of Gollum, we know very little about the movie but it seems that other familiar faces might return and not everyone is happy. Some fans are not happy about the potential return of Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf but they do have genuine concerns.

However, other fans are also unhappy about the potential return of Orlando Bloom as Legolas but for a different reason than Gandalf. As reported by Variety, Bloom revealed that he has spoken to Serkis about reprising the role and to counter father time, the actor could be de-aged by AI.

“I did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things. I was like, ‘How would that even work?’ And he was like, ‘Well, AI!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’” said Bloom.

“Serkis has never respected the artists who made him famous,” said zemthings, replying to a post from realJaredGilman.

“Alright, that’s it. Doesn’t matter how good he was as Gollum, this movie will be irredeemable garbage 100%” exclaimed parasytep8 with AlohaAndreNo1 adding “Andy talking like he belongs in a circus.”

However, to play devil’s advocate, despite being against AI when it comes to stealing artwork and roles from actors, it’s not always a bad thing. Such as when it’s been used to de-age actors in the MCU and I’d imagine, this would be how it’s used for Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom, should they reprise roles in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

“You realise not all AI is bad AI, right? If it’s not generative AI then what is the issue?” said JasperMacdonald. Hopefully, by the time The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum releases, we’ll only have positive things to say about the movie.