In an interview with Variety, director Andy Serkis confirmed that *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* will use machine learning and AI to digitally de-age some of its characters, including Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen, who are returning to their roles of Frodo and Gandalf more than 25 years after *Fellowship of the Ring* released. Serkis stated that AI is "valuable" as long as it is "not exploitative and as long as it's not harming anybody," comparing the technology to the "MASSIVE" program used for orc animations in the original trilogy. When asked if he planned to use AI in the film, Serkis replied, "Not at present, other than some of the de-aging," adding, "There’s a little bit of de-aging for some of the characters and machine learning is part of the process." He emphasized that "every shot is created in a traditional way" and that he wanted to "bring back all of the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to prosthetics." The film has completed its first week of filming in New Zealand.