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Andy Serkis defends casting of new Lord of the Rings film

Director Andy Serkis confirmed that The Hunt for Gollum will use machine learning for de-aging effects on original characters, though he emphasized the technology's application remains limited to this specific purpose.
Set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, the film explores the psychology and history of the creature before his fateful encounter with Bilbo Baggins.
Although de-aging assists certain characters, Serkis intends to "bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics, and marry them up" during production. The director confirmed AI is not used elsewhere in the film.
Sir Ian McKellan will reprise his role as Gandalf, while Jamie Dornan joins as Aragorn, replacing Viggo Mortensen from the original film series.
The film arrives in cinemas on Dec 17, 2027, with further casting announcements expected in the coming months as production continues.

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