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- Primary Subject: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
- Key Update: During a Cannes masterclass, Peter Jackson defended AI as a standard "special effect" while claiming that industry-wide fear of the technology is unfairly preventing motion-capture actors like Andy Serkis from receiving award recognition.
- Status: In development (Andy Serkis directing and starring)
- Last Verified: May 13, 2026
- Quick Answer: Peter Jackson believes Andy Serkis won't win awards for The Hunt for Gollum because Hollywood incorrectly conflates his human-led motion-capture performance with AI-generated content.
The return of Peter Jackson to the world of Middle-earth has taken an unexpected turn. While receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the legendary filmmaker broke his silence on the future of the Lord of the Rings franchise and the evolving technology behind it.
Peter Jackson Defends AI Usage in Films and Claims Andy Serkis Will Never Win for Gollum
The debate over artificial intelligence has reached Middle-earth. At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson offered a dual-sided take on AI technology, labeling it a powerful creative tool while warning that its growing casting shadow over the achievements of authentic digital performers.
During the Cannes Film Festival masterclass, Jackson said that though AI is "going to destroy the film", he doesn't "dislike it at all" when it comes to utilizing it in films. "I mean, to me, it's just a special effect," Jackson said, "It's no different from other special effects."
However, while he acknowledges the benefits of AI, he said it's still "absolutely critical" to protect actors' rights from having their likenesses stolen and used in films without permission: "If you're doing an AI duplicate of somebody, like Indiana Jones or anyone else, as long as you've licensed the rights off the person who you're showing, I don't see the issue. It's when people's likenesses get stolen and usurped."
Another one of those downsides of the development of AI is its impact on motion-capture performances, which Jackson believes will affect Serkis' chance at getting recognition and accolades for his Gollum act.
"I don't think a Gollum-type character or a generated character has any hope for winning any awards," Jackson continued, "Which is a bit unfair, especially in the Andy Serkis case, where it's not an AI-generated performance, it's a human-generated performance 100% of the way."
Peter Jackson Addresses Why He Didn't Return to the Lord of the Rings Franchise
Jackson was initially expected to return and helm The Hunt for Gollum, but he revealed that he ultimately decided to let Serkis take the reins for one special reason: "The film is about Gollum's psychological addiction. I thought, 'Andy knows this guy better than anybody.' So I actually didn't think much of me [directing the new movie]. I thought the most exciting version of this movie is if Andy Serkis makes it."
Even though Jackson did not helm or return on the Lord of the Rings spin-off set, Elijah Wood, who played Frodo in the trilogy, certainly reminded the director why his work will never be forgotten: "You showed the world something it had never seen before and nothing was ever the same," Wood said as he presented the honorary Palme to Jackson. "He helped build an entirely new filmmaking culture at the far edge of the world."
Jackson recalled in his speech that filming all three Lord of the Rings films was a "huge gamble", dubbed a "folly" by the media, that might prove to be a disaster if the first film didn't hit. However, he proudly said that the narrative changed in Cannes 25 years ago, in 2001, when he showed 20 minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring that changed the perception and trajectory of the film forever.
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