Peter Jackson Reveals the Surprising Inspiration ‘Behind The Hunt for Gollum’

Peter Jackson has shared new details about what is inspiring his upcoming work, including the long-delayed sequel to The Adventures of Tintin and his involvement in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

Jackson explained that he is currently writing the screenplay for the Tintin sequel with Fran Walsh. He described the project as active and said he is working on it regularly while sending pages back and forth during production development.

At the same time, he also spoke about The Hunt for Gollum and what shaped its creative direction. Jackson said the team looked at a very unexpected source when thinking about how to approach the story.

He said: “We were thinking about the original ‘Joker’ film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix.”

He explained that the idea was not to copy tone or style directly, but to think about how a well-known character could be explored in a more personal and internal way. Jackson said the goal was to take written material from J.R.R. Tolkien and turn it into something more focused on character perspective rather than just large external events.

He added that the story would come from material in Tolkien’s appendices, which include background details and side stories about Gollum. These notes describe parts of Gollum’s journey, including his time before the events of The Lord of the Rings and his connection to the Ring.

Jackson also made it clear that he is not directing The Hunt for Gollum himself. He said he believes the film works better with Andy Serkis leading it, since Serkis has a strong connection to the character through his past performance work.

Even so, Jackson remains involved as a producer and supporter of the project. His role is more about guidance and support rather than direct control, allowing Serkis to shape the film in his own way.

Alongside this, Jackson continues working on the Tintin sequel, which he says is already in active writing. He described the process as ongoing and collaborative, with regular drafts being sent and revised.

His return to these projects marks a shift back toward major feature films after years of focusing more on documentaries and smaller production roles. According to his Cannes comments reported by IndieWire, both projects are moving forward, but in very different ways creatively.

For The Hunt for Gollum, the key idea Jackson highlighted is simple. Instead of treating it like a traditional fantasy adventure, the creative team is looking at it more like a character-focused story, inspired by psychological storytelling approaches seen in modern cinema.

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