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Andy Serkis is directing and starring in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, but recent comments have raised concerns about how AI is being used to reshape J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic universe of stories. Tolkien's novels have been remarkably popular since they were first published in 1954. Since then, these stories have inspired millions, and went on to enjoy numerous adaptations.
However, the most remarkable and well-known effort to bring Tolkien's expansive world of Middle-earth to life has to be Peter Jackson's iconic trilogy, released between 2001 and 2003. And of course, a notable part of that story came from the incredible performance of Andy Serkis, who provided the motion capture performance of Gollum, along with the voice and even facial expressions that made this character so unforgettable.
Now, more than two and a half decades after the first film landed in theaters, Serkis has picked up the mantle as he sets out to expand the story of Gollum by going back in time before the trilogy began. But of course, the central cast of the original films has aged somewhat in the last 25 years, leading to Serkis making the hotly contested choice to use AI in one specific area of creating The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Andy Serkis Has Confirmed AI Will Be Used To De-Age Characters In The Hunt For Gollum
In an interview with Variety, Andy Serkis confirmed that "There’s a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters, and machine learning is part of the process." This is evidently a divisive revelation considering the debates currently taking place about where and if AI has any place in creative spheres, especially when it comes to making films in Hollywood.
Despite being a massive production with serious money behind it, it's interesting to see that Serkis has decided to choose to employ the use of a technology that has been repeatedly at the center of protests and prolonged strikes where actors and writers were concerned about how AI technologies could undermine creatives and erase jobs in Hollywood.
Evidently, while there are talented VFX artists, it seems as though Serkis and the rest of the production on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum seem to have less complex feelings regarding the use of AI in the process of making their film. And to be fair, Serkis did raise a good point later in that same interview.
Andy Serkis Also Highlighted Peter Jackson's Earlier Use Of AI
With the explosion of AI and rapid advancements in the space, there has been a lot of discord about ethical concerns, which is incredibly valid. However, Serkis pointed out that this is not the first time AI is being used in The Lord of the Rings franchise.
"When you think about it, in the original Lord of the Rings films, Peter created MASSIVE, which was a program that allowed 1000s of orcs to all have their own individual mindset. So that is a brilliant example of an incredible use of AI." - Andy Serkis
While there was far less contention surrounding AI, and many limitations that existed on the technology during the 2000s, the point Serkis makes is a valid one. Peter Jackson employed the use of a program which allowed 1000s of CGI orcs to behave independently during large fight scenes, ensuring the moments did not feel stale, and saving a significant amount of time and money that would have otherwise been required to make this moment equally convincing.
However, there is a difference between this use case and the one that is being employed in The Hunt for Gollum. Namely, if Jackson chose not to use MASSIVE to bring the extra orcs to life, it's possible, and even likely, that the studio would not have wanted to spend the time or money animating 1000s of orcs with VFX artists teams, and may have opted to use other techniques, such as copying the movements of a few groups of orcs onto 1000s of different models.
In this way, Jackson made a decision that improved the sequence where the alternative would have been of lesser quality. Serkis' may be facing a similar challenge in de-aging numerous characters across hundreds of scenes, and this might be enough to justify the choice to use AI to do the legwork. However, it's difficult to say for certain how either of these situations would have ended up without the use of AI with a high degree of certainty.
J.R.R. Tolkien's Beliefs Suggest He Would Have Been Hesitant About AI De-Aging
When speaking to Dr. Gerry Canavan, a professor of English at Marquette University who has written extensively about the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. Canavan shared his thoughts about how he believes Tolkien's beliefs would have informed his approach to AI technologies in creative spaces, and specifically the idea of de-aging characters;
"It's a bit funny in light of Tolkien's deep suspicion of immortality; basically all his villains are people who are seeking to extend their life and dominion over the world unnaturally. For Tolkien, in part because of his religious beliefs, being alive is a process that has a beginning, middle, and end, and part of living in the world as a full and mature adult was coming to terms with that. Even death itself is understood by the Elves to be a gift that Men were given that they can't understand and can't access, and are envious of. So I think he'd be very skeptical about attempts to freeze and reverse time like this!" - Dr. Gerry Canavan
Evidently, it seems as though Tolkien would have been critical of the idea of de-aging characters, and that this is something that was echoed through his work. But, it's also important to note that it seems Dr. Canavan's interpretation could also include de-aging even when implemented by a human as opposed to a computer.
Regardless, it seems as though the choice to include several aging cast members instead of finding a new crew of actors who are age-appropriate for the story may have been Tolkien's preference. And as for AI, it is hard to pinpoint where Tolkien's feelings would lie, considering he passed away in 1973. This means Tolkien never experienced technology the way that modern audiences do, and likely would have struggled to accurately conceive of the extent of it.
Serkis Also Points To Their Intentional Approach In Making The Hunt For Gollum
Despite the controversy and questions raised about using AI in making The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, it does appear as though Serkis is being mindful in his approach to making the movie more broadly, as the same interview with Variety also revealed how he is seeking to utilize techniques that are fading from common usage;
"But we’re not creating AI shots in our movie, every shot is created in a traditional way.
One of the things actually that I really wanted to do with this film was to bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics, and marry them up, because that’s my taste. I like it when you mix up different filmmaking techniques." - Andy Serkis
Serkis' commitment to exploring other aspects of film-making is likely to give work to artists and technicians who have not been very active in Hollywood for years, while also giving new, up-and-coming talent hands-on experience with these methods. In this way, it seems that Serkis' is being very mindful and purposeful in making the film.
Ultimately, it appears to be a nuanced situation when it comes to AI being used in certain aspects of making a film. There may be instances where these technologies can help real people deliver a better product than they could without accessing AI in the first place.
Of course, there are still concerns about how the AI is trained, and the environmental impact of it all, but as far as what this means for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, it remains to be seen how it will come across on the screen. Whatever the case, there is a lot that needs to be figured out, and a long way to go before people come to a consensus.
