Gollum actor Andy Serkis has returned to the Lord of the Rings franchise to narrate a new audiobook version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved series, out on September 16th.
“Walking back into Middle-Earth over 20 years after my first life-changing adventure there and experiencing it all over again — this time for many weeks alone in a sound booth — has brought in equal measures of pure joy, sheer madness, immense pleasure, and a level of psychological and physical fatigue I have never quite experienced the like of before,” Serkis said in a statement.
“Having now completed the quest and been ‘there and back again… again,’ I realize what a phenomenal privilege it has been to have had the opportunity to read this sublime work once more. My only hope, now, is that I have done it justice, and that the listening experience conveys the power and beauty of J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece.”
It marks Serkis’ second audiobook adaptation of Tolkien’s work, following his new recording of The Hobbit last year. During the early days of the pandemic, Serkis also gave a continuous, live reading of The Hobbit to raise money for charity.
Best known for portraying the villainous Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, Serkis has stepped behind the camera in recent years. He helmed the Venom sequel, Let There Be Carnage, which has been pushed back to September 24th.
Pre-orders for The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King audiobooks are ongoing. In the meantime, pick up a copy of Serkis’ reading of The Hobbit.
In addition to the new audiobook, Lord of the Rings fans can look forward to Amazon’s $465 million original TV series, which is expected to debut on Prime Video later this year.
