Peter Jackson’s LOTR writer fuels Sauron movie possibility, fans buzzing about the dark lord’s origin story. Middle-earth awaits!

Just when you thought The Lord of the Rings fandom had seen it all, here comes a juicy possibility that could shake Middle-earth to its core — a Sauron standalone movie. The dark lord himself might finally get his time to shine (or, more likely, ominously smolder). One of the OG writers from Peter Jackson’s legendary trilogy just dropped a tantalizing hint that has fans buzzing like a Nazgûl on caffeine.

Peter Jackson. | Image by: Mike Walen, licenced under CCA-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Imagine exploring Sauron’s villain origin story or his days of deceiving elves with shiny rings. With the rise of villain-centric storytelling, this could be the ultimate deep dive into the mind of Middle-earth’s big baddie.

More Middle-earth Stories on the Horizon: Philippa Boyens Teases Sauron Origin and Epic Films

Anson Boon as Sauron in ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ | Credits: New Line Cinema

“I’ve fallen in love with the form.” That’s Philippa Boyens teasing us with some serious Middle-earth future talk. So, is a Sauron origin story finally coming to the big screen? Tolkien fans have dreamed about this forever, and it’s looking like there’s a shot.

In a chat with The Playlist, she revealed that the team behind the franchise is considering a ton of fresh standalone films — and Sauron could be one of them. She alluded,

There’s a lot of [possibilities], when you look at it, there’s a lot of things in there, actually…One of the things this [‘War Of The Rohirrim’] story has shown us is that a stand-alone story works really successfully within the world of Middle-earth and I would genuinely—because I’ve fallen in love with the form—love to see another anime. But that depends on the audiences out there, your audience, fans of not only the original trilogy, but that vast anime audience. I’m really interested to see what they think.

We already know The Rings of Power and The War of Rohirrim are keeping the Tolkien train rolling, but Boyens hinted there’s a ton more on the way. Standalone stories, like War of Rohirrim, have proven to work, so don’t be surprised if we see more epic tales from Middle-earth. She revealed:

So we’re in the audiences hands…If there’s an appetite for it, we’ve got more stories. There’s a ton of stories left to be told there and some really, really interesting ones. But my preference would be, after ‘Hunt For Gollum,’ would be to look at those stand-alone stories. 

And then if we got really ambitious—there are some epic, particular stories that could translate into that more traditional epic trilogy format that was the original ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ the war of the rings story.

And let’s be real — who wouldn’t want to see a deep dive into the Dark Lord’s past? Boyens didn’t give specifics, but she’s definitely got ideas swimming. More anime? Maybe. A massive trilogy? Possibly. It all depends on whether the fans are up for it. So, if Sauron (or something else) gets the green light, you’ll know it’s because we demanded it.

Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis Reunite for Epic New Gollum Film, The Hunt for Gollum

Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther | Credit: Marvel Studios

Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings cast reunited for a major moment as they announced a brand-new Middle-earth film.

Produced by Jackson and starring Andy Serkis, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will dive into Gollum’s past, with Serkis himself stepping behind the camera to direct. It marks the start of a new wave of Tolkien adaptations over the next decade. Serkis couldn’t help but geek out, saying about reuniting with his filmmaking family:

Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our filmmaking family in New Zealand. It’s just all too delicious.

Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are just as pumped, promising another epic adventure for fans. Elijah Wood was a little caught off guard, but we can all agree — this is one journey fans won’t want to miss. Looks like Middle-earth’s got more stories to tell.