Andy Serkis defends casting without diversity in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Asked about his casting composed entirely of white actors, the director accepts this choice and refuses “political correctness”.
While The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has just started filming, its casting is already raising questions.
So far, all the announced cast members are white: Jamie Dornan, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, Lee Pace, Leo Woodall, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, who reprises his role as Gollum. Asked by the BBC about this lack of diversity, the director and actor defended this approach by invoking the inspirations of JRR Tolkien:
“Tolkien was hugely influenced by Norse mythology. The Shire really gives that impression… It’s a very, very white place. Its inhabitants don’t really care about what happens beyond their borders, and they don’t want foreigners to settle there.“
Andy Serkis recognizes, however, that the franchise has already been criticized on this issue.
“Yes, there have been criticisms of this in the past. This film partly takes them into account. But I don’t think we’ll do a politically correct version where casting is dictated solely by the desire to check boxes. We will do it when it is relevant.”
The filmmaker did not, however, specify how this reflection will be translated concretely on screen. The roles of the different actors have still not been revealed. The question of diversity in Tolkien’s universe had already caused controversy with the series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Some fans had violently criticized Prime Video’s choice to integrate more racialized characters, causing a wave of racist messages against several actors. Faced with this controversy, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan publicly supported the series. The actors posed together wearing t-shirts depicting the ears of the people of Middle-earth in different skin colors. The interpreters of Rings of Power had also published a joint press release recalling that “the world created by Tolkien is multicultural“and that”fantasy has never been exclusively white”.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is expected in French theaters on December 15, 2027.
