The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum Will Use AI to De‑Age Actors

When you hear that a new "Lord of the Rings" movie is going to use artificial intelligence, the first thing that pops into most fans’ heads is a futuristic, CGI‑laden nightmare. That’s not what director Andy Serkis is promising. He’s saying the AI part is narrowly focused – mainly to make the actors look a bit less… well, older.

Speaking to Variety, Serkis confirmed that “there’s a little bit of de‑aging for some of the characters and machine learning is part of the process.” In practical terms, that means the likes of Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Lee Pace will get a subtle digital facelift, nudging them back toward the ages they were during the original trilogies.

Don’t worry, though – the rest of the film isn’t being built on AI‑generated imagery. “We’re not creating AI shots in our movie, every shot is created in a traditional way,” Serkis emphasized. He wants to bring back the old‑school tricks: miniatures, prosthetics, practical effects – the very stuff that gave the original films their tactile magic.

That’s not to say Serkis is anti‑AI altogether. He reminded everyone that Peter Jackson, the man behind the first films, collaborated with software engineer Stephen Regelous to birth the MASSIVE system back in the early 2000s. MASSIVE let thousands of on‑screen orcs act with their own little AI‑driven personalities – a groundbreaking use of the technology for its time.

“AI can be a valuable creative tool as long as it’s not exploitative,” Serkis added, drawing a clear line between helpful machine‑learning and the kind of generative AI that worries actors and writers alike. He warned that when AI is used to replace people or spread falsehoods, it becomes a problem we’ve essentially created ourselves.

Fans seem to be nodding along, especially when the conversation stays focused on de‑aging. One commenter on The Tab wrote, “AI is perfect for de‑aging – it should get a free pass. Having an artist sit and de‑age someone is a horrific chore.” Another pointed out, “Every single VFX tool uses AI for some part of the processing. This isn’t generative AI.”

Meanwhile, other filmmakers who’ve openly embraced generative AI haven’t gotten the same warm reception. The divide in Hollywood is growing, and Serkis’s measured approach could be a hint of how the industry might navigate the murky waters ahead.

In short, "The Hunt for Gollum" aims to blend the old with the new: classic practical effects married to a dash of AI magic, all to make familiar faces feel fresh again.