The Lord of the Rings franchise is set to add another project to its league, which is set to be out in 2026. Titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, it is starring and directed by original Gollum actor Andy Serkis. However, the project is garnering a negative spotlight due to what Warner Bros did after announcing the project.
Just one day after the studio announced the upcoming project, a fan-made movie of the same name was taken down from YouTube, which didn’t fit well among fans.
A New Lord of the Rings Movie Has Been Announced!
The original The Lord of the Rings trilogy filmmaker, Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. As reported by Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made a surprise announcement during its first-quarter earnings conference call, sharing that the trio will “be involved every step of the way.”
Walsh and Boyens are working on the movie script along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, which is currently in the early stages, exploring “storylines yet to be told.”
Apart from releasing the working movie title, the studio has also announced Andy Serkis’s return in his iconic titular role, who will also be sitting in the director’s chair. He is also serving as executive producer along with Ken Kamins, and The Imaginarium’s Jonathan Cavendish.
While Serkis’s new project sounds promising, avid fans would feel mixed emotions as the studio filed a copyright strike against a fan-made movie of the same name.
The Hunt for Gollum Fan-Made Film Has Been Taken Down!
While the WB announced this project last Thursday, fans of the franchise are familiar with the title, thanks to a 2009 fan-made movie, which garnered positive views on YouTube.
The movie would have likely contained the same story concept but has now been blocked due to copyright grounds. Directed by Chris Bouchard, the now-deleted video spans 39 minutes, garnering 13.6 million views (via IGN )on the streaming platform before it got hauled.
The page reads,
“This video contains content from Warner Bros. Entertainment, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.”
As the studio brings a new project for fans to enjoy, they take away a precious project from them, which is what they’re unhappy about. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), online commentators reflected on how this decision is “peak capitalism.“
Check out the tweets here.
Copying content from YouTube and then using their money and power. Peak capitalism.
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) May 10, 2024
I’m sorry but how do you steal someone’s title from 15yrs ago and act like it was Your idea…
— mystique (@mystic_k9) May 10, 2024
Thanks for reminding us how horrible you are Warner Bros, I almost forgot today 🥲
— Chatsunami 🏴 (@ChatsunamiPod) May 10, 2024
Several came forward to showcase their frustration towards the studio, which filed a copyright strike, leading the video to be hauled offline.
Literally Warner Bros right now pic.twitter.com/14EjFmAFvE
— The Governor 🦖 ✝️ ⬅️⬇️⬆️➡️ ↙️↖️👣↗️↘️ (@Gov_Megatron) May 10, 2024
Couldn't even come up with their own title smh
— OneMadNugget | Video Editor (@OneMadNugget) May 10, 2024
Power move 🥲
— Otunba Arsenal (@gidi_b0y) May 10, 2024
Last year, it was announced that the studio is revamping the universe with the 2026 project being the first of two new live-action franchise films. As the studio bosses broke multiple film deals based on the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien books, it is yet to see how they go with the epic fantasy-adventure cinematic franchise.
Although it is yet to be revealed how the studio ended up with Gollum’s arc, it might have something to do with the Gollum video game, which rose to prominence last year.
Warner Bros. lift copyright strike from Hunt for Gollum Fan-Made Film
It seems as though the studio was quick to recognize its mistake, and has speedily responded to the hue and cry revolving around the copyright strike. According to an update from the fan himself, the copyright strikes against the movie have been lifted, meaning that it is now available to be watched on YouTube once again.
Warner Bros has lifted the copyright strike from ‘THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM’ fan film, which they claim was done in error. pic.twitter.com/22ZJQ70f77
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 10, 2024
In a statement released by Warner Bros., the company claimed that the copyright strike was actually sent due to an ‘error,’ which suggests there were no actual plans to protect the title.
The Hunt for Gollum is currently scheduled to be released in 2026.
