Gollum’s (played by Andy Serkis) horrible swallowing noise would be heard once again as HarperCollins announced a new audiobook edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, a Celtic draft, which was initially rejected and later turned into the epic, The Lord of the Rings saga. The man who is slated to narrate the epic fantasy is none other than the BAFTA-winning actor and director, Andy Serkis.
The Lord of the Rings‘ Gollum Is Returning As A Storyteller
Andy Serkis, who is known for the epic role of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise – a Sméagol, who gets corrupted by the One Ring – is set to make a return to the $1.5 billion franchise, as he takes fans through J. R. R. Tolkien’s unabridged version of The Silmarillion.
The announcement was made by HarperCollins UK on Twitter, referring to it as the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings narrated by Andy Serkis. The publishing company mention that the audiobook will be available to listen on Jun 22, 2023. Serkis previously narrated RBmedia’s The Hobbit audiobook
A clip was also shared wherein Serkis, who returned to Middle-earth with this book, was heard reading the novel. Well, there is a lot to look forward to, because this is the “unabridged version”. The Silmarillion was published by Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien, who posthumously published an edited version of this book.
Andy Serkis Found The Silmarillion A Hard Road To Climb
It’s an undeniable fact that The Silmarillion is almost like the ancient bible, a draft that was initially called “too Celtic”, pushing J. R. R. Tolkien to come up with The Lord of the Rings epic high-fantasy novel. Serkis expressed:
“The Silmarillion was always going to be a hard mountain to climb, and therefore perhaps the most rewarding. I was seriously daunted.
He further explained that the “narrative structure and characters” of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings provide the narrator with “immense propulsion.” He admitted that reading The Silmarillion is like “reading an extraordinary, ancient bible,” with its “own creation mythology spanning many ages, written over many years.”
Andy Serkis gave an “iconic motion capture performance” as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s $5.8 billion trilogy, also reprising the role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In March 2023, the actor expressed his desire to “jump at the chance” after it was announced that several new films based on the Peter Jacksons franchise “are in the works”.
