The Lord of the Ringsis a historical franchise, and it has three more movies in the pipeline, but the third is confusing following the confirmation that Gandalf will probably feature in it. A resuscitation ofThe Lord of the Ringsis hugely welcome, and likewise the reappearance of Gandalf, one ofLord of the Rings’best characters. But Gandalf’s appearance in Warner Bros.' upcoming planned movie raises many questions. That includes Gandalf’s role, considering that the bulk of his story will likely have already been covered by other movies by then.
Gandalf isn’t set to appear inthe 2024 anime movieThe War of the Rohirrim, but he is all but confirmed for the subsequent movie,The Hunt for Gollum,covering Gandalf’s search for Gollum. Ian McKellen has already been asked by Warner Bros. to return as Gandalf inThe Hunt for Gollum, and he expressed his enthusiasm (Deadline).Lord of the Ringsproducer and writer Philippa Boyens confirmed that Gandalf will probably appear inThe Hunt for Gollum’sfollow-up movie but didn’t confirm the movie’s plot, making its premise perplexing.
Gandalf Returning For A Second New Lord Of The Rings Movie Makes The Story Confusing
Gandalf’s Role In The Second New LOTR Movie Is Unclear
Gandalf’s role inThe Hunt for Gollummovieis reasonably clear, but what part he could have in a follow-up remains to be seen. Warner Bros. originally confirmed that, followingThe War of the Rohirrim, a duo of new movies would be released, suggesting a continuity between the two. However, Philipa Boyens confirmed thatThe Hunt for Gollum"isn’t two films"(Empire). From Boyens' comments, it seems that there may be little to no relation betweenThe Hunt for Gollumand its follow-up, leaving Gandalf’s role in Warner Bros.' third plannedLotRmovie uncertain.
10 Lord Of The Rings Characters Ranked By Chances Of Appearing In The Hunt For Gollum
With The Hunt for Gollum coming up, there are some classic Lord of the Rings characters that could soon be making an on-screen appearance again.
If Warner Bros.' thirdLotRmovie, presumably planned for 2028 or a similar time, was a sequel toHunt for Gollum, Gandalf’s role could be presumed. Boyens confirmed toEmpirethatThe Hunt for Gollum’sstory"falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria" and is a “specific chunk of… untold story.” Told across two movies,this story could see Gandalf chase Gollum through Mirkwood, Rhovanion, and Mordor. But as a separate venture toHunt for Gollum, the third movie would likely tell a different Gandalf story, which will necessitate it digging deep into the legendarium.
Which Gandalf Story Another The Lord Of The Rings Movie Could Tell
There Are A Few Gandalf Tales To Tell
FollowingThe War of the RohirrimandThe Hunt for Gollum,the nextLord of the Ringsmovie could tell a Gandalf story from the early Third Age. Boyens confirmed that Warner Bros.' third newLord of the Ringsmovie wouldn’t necessarily be aHunt for Gollumsequel and even implied it may not even necessarily be live-action. She said “We have an absolute banger of a second film that would just be incredible as an anime,” leaving the details obscure. Regardless of its format, the mysterious movie may look toGandalf’s arrival in Middle-earthfor source material.
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Warner Bros.‘Hunt for Gollumfollow-up may not have enough source material to tell a story that occurs after the events ofThe Hunt for Gollum. Most of Gandalf’s impressive moments in the late Third Age happen duringPeter Jackson’sLord of the RingsandHobbitmovies. The movie may turn to Gandalf’s first appearance in Middle-earth for its subject matter. According toLotR’sappendices,Gandalf arrived at the Grey Havens by ship around the year 1000 of the Third Ageand urged an attack on Dol Guldur around 2000 years later, which could make an interesting movie premise.
Is The Lord Of The Rings Franchise Relying Too Much On Gandalf?
Warner Bros Could Be Overusing Gandalf
Gandalf’s mysterious appearance in aLord of the Ringsmovie followingThe Hunt for Gollummakes it seem as iftheLotRfranchise may be relying on Gandalftoo much. This movie could tell the story of Gandalf’s early days on Middle-earth, or it could even, radically, tell the story of Gandalf’s existence in the Timeless Halls.There is source material for the third newLord of the Ringsmovie to play withwithin its rights, but it is very briefly outlined, rather than fully fleshed out. Perhaps Warner Bros. is exploiting Gandalf’s commercial appeal without fair basis.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseasons 1 and 2 can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
Creative integrity and faithfulness will always be raised regardingLord of the Ringsadaptations, because high fantasy master J.R.R Tolkien created such a widely loved story. And so it should be - it is good that fans will unfailingly hold Warner Bros. and Amazon Prime Video to account regarding theirLord of the Ringsproductions.It could be that Gandalf is being used by Warner Bros. as aLord of the Ringsmascotof sorts, shepherding viewers into the cinema, while Gandalf’s role was shoehorned into the narrative.
Frodo actor Elijah Wood expressed his confidence inThe Lord of the Rings’creative integrity going forward…
It is possible that a Gandalf cameo in Warner Bros.’ third plannedLord of the Ringsmovie could involve straying from Tolkien’s narrative excessively, entailing a compromise in faithfulness. However, Boyens didn’t confirm the prevalence of Gandalf’s role in any of the upcoming movies. Plus,Warner Bros. could acquire one-off rights to relevant parts of the legendarium, as Amazon did forRings of Power.Frodo actor Elijah Wood expressed his confidence inThe Lord of the Rings’creative integrity going forward, stating “there’s so many different stories they could tell” (Inverse).
Sources:Deadline,Empire,Inverse
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
