A new elf emerges in Middle-earth.
It was previously revealed that Anya Taylor-Joy has been cast in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum as Seren, an original elf character who does not appear in J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material. The upcoming movie is directed by Andy Serkis, who is playing Gollum again, and other cast members include Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Jamie Dornan as Aragorn, Kate Winslet as Marigold, Leo Woodall as Halvard, Lee Pace as Thranduil, and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins.
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Taylor-Joy has now spoken about joining The Hunt for Gollum and taking on the role of Seren, which she describes as “very validating” and “a dream come true.” She also reveals how she is a fan of both the franchise and of Serkis, admiring the latter as an individual and as an artist. Check out her comments below:
I feel like I’ve been an elf my whole life, so it feels very validating to go and actually be able to do it as a job. I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. I’m a huge fan of Andy Serkis. I think he’s a wonderful man and a wonderful innovative creator. And so I think just being able to be a part of this world and to inhabit (Seren) is a dream come true.
This is not the first time that a new female elf character has been brought into The Lord of the Rings movies. Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly, was created for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The reception to Tauriel proved to be mixed, as many fans took issue with the focus on the romance between her and the dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner).
Per Deadline, Seren is “a trusted and lethal agent of King Thranduil,” a description that is somewhat similar to Tauriel, as she is the captain of Thranduil’s guards. Seren sounds as though she will be more of an assassin, though, making her a formidable character to be reckoned with as Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum.
Unlike the previous live-action movies, which were based on specific novels, The Hunt for Gollum is fleshing out a story from a handful of lines in Tolkien’s writing about Gandalf and Aragorn’s attempts to find Gollum before Sauron can learn the location of the One Ring from him. This is one of the main reasons why the film includes a combination of established and brand-new characters, in addition to franchise veteran actors and newcomers.
The Lord of the Rings is only the latest of several major franchises that Taylor-Joy is in. Earlier this year, she voiced Princess Peach in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and she can be seen as Alia Atreides in Dune: Part Three when it releases in theaters on December 18. She has also played Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Gina Gray in Peaky Blinders, Ilyana Rasputin in New Mutants, Casey Cooke in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and Glass, and she voiced Brea in Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Outside of franchises, Taylor-Joy’s roles include Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, Margot in The Menu, Olga of the Birch Forest in The Northman, Sandie in Last Night in Soho, Drasa in The Gorge, Emma Woodhouse in Emma, Lily in Thoroughbreds, and Thomas in The Witch. She received a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination for The Queen’s Gambit, along with Golden Globe nominations for Emma and The Menu.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum releases in theaters on December 17, 2027.
- Release Date
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December 17, 2027
- Writers
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Arty Papageorgiou, Phoebe Gittins, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien