Peter Jackson is finally stepping back into Middle-earth in a bigger way, and this time, the focus is entirely on Gollum’s troubled mind. The filmmaker recently explained that the upcoming fantasy movie takes inspiration from Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Joker, especially its deep psychological approach to a damaged character. Jackson also shared why Andy Serkis was the right person to lead the project.

Peter Jackson explains how Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker was inspiration for The Hunt for Gollum

While speaking to IndieWire at the Cannes Film Festival, Peter Jackson revealed that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will explore Gollum from a far more personal angle than previous Middle-earth movies. Jackson said the team looked at Joker as a creative reference point while shaping the story.

According to him, the Joaquin Phoenix film stood out because it focused heavily on the character’s psychology while still telling a larger story. “The way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story. We’ve got the story that’s in the appendices, and we’ll tell that story, but we’ll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective,” Jackson shared.

Jackson explained that the movie will adapt material from the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. Those sections include extra background details that never appeared directly in the main novels. He said the story covers parts of Gollum’s earlier life, his desperate search for the Ring, and the Rangers hunting him down before he is eventually taken to Mordor.

The Oscar-winning director also made it clear he never seriously considered directing the film himself. Instead, he believes Andy Serkis can bring something more interesting to the character because of his long connection with Gollum. “If I thought I’d do a better film, I’d do it,” Jackson admitted. “But I thought, there’s a guy that’s going to make a really interesting film here, and it’s not me.”