Lord of the rings prequel to use ai for de-aging, director confirms

Andy Serkis, director of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, has confirmed that some level of digital de-aging will be used to make characters like Frodo and Gandalf appear more like their younger selves.

The film's first week of filming in new zealand has wrapped up, with ian mckellen, elijah wood, and lee pace reprising their roles from the original trilogy.

Discussing the controversial topic of ai usage in filmmaking, Serkis believes the technology is 'valuable' as long as it's 'not exploitative and as long as it's not harming anybody.' He compared the technology to Peter Jackson's MASSIVE program, which allowed for thousands of orcs to have their own individual mindset in the original films.

However, Serkis also emphasized the importance of traditional filmmaking skills, stating he wanted to 'bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics and marry them up.' The film will combine these techniques with ai, resulting in a unique visual style.

Viggo Mortensen's character Aragorn has been recast, with Jamie Dornan taking on the role. The film is set to release on December 17, 2027, followed by The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past, which will adapt unseen elements from Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring novel.