He may have played Gollum for the last time in The Hobbit, but Andy Serkis manages to keep himself in the world of Middle-earth in other ways.
Though Serkis hasn’t appeared in LOTR: The Rings of Power (yet), he does confirm that he has another Tolkien audiobook down the line. In a recent interview with Flip Your Wig (via ibid on TolkienGuide), Serkis has mentioned that he will be doing an audiobook for The Silmariliion. He says:
“I’ve lived with the books because I’ve read the audiobook of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as a charity thing for the NHS called Hobbitathon, which we did during the pandemic, and actually I’m about to do The Silmarillion, so the world of Tolkien has never left me.”
It’s going to be interesting to listen to Serkis read the Silmarillion, since it’s notorious for being one of the more difficult books to read in Tolkien’s Middle-earth series. While The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings generally play out like regular narratives, The Silmarillion is considered to be more about exposition—like reading an encyclopedia filled with details of a fantasy world straight.
Then again, that’s just the opinion of some fans. I’m sure there are those hardcore Tolkien nerds who would just love to absorb every detail they can about Middle-earth. Should be something to do while we wait for the next season of The Rings of Power.
No release date has been announced for Serkis’ take on The Silmarillion, but maybe we could get something by next year. In the meantime, you can check out Serkis’ readings on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy now available for purchase.
