Actor and director Andy Serkis told Variety that the film "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum," the new installment of the "Lord of the Rings" series, will use AI technology to make actors look younger.

Serkis, who is directing the new film and reprising his famous role as Gollum, told Variety: "There will be a small amount of techniques to show some characters at a younger age, and machine learning will be part of the process," according to a report by the magazine, seen by Al Arabiya Business.

AI is a controversial topic in Hollywood. Some studios, such as A24, have moved toward generative AI. In contrast, others in the industry, including actors, directors, and writers, have strongly criticized this technology, with many fearing that AI could be used to replace industry jobs or simply lead to lower-quality work.

With tensions rising between supporters and opponents of AI – or those who reluctantly accepted dealing with it – the industry and its leaders, including Serkis, are publicly discussing this technology and what it means for one of the most important creative industries.

Alongside Serkis, actors from previous films are returning, including Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Lee Pace as Thranduil, all of whom are significantly older than they were when filming the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the previous "Hobbit" films.

Beyond showing some actors at a younger age, Serkis said that "for now," there are no other plans to use AI in the production of the new film.

He said: "We are not creating shots using AI in our film; every shot is executed in the traditional way."

He added: "One of the things I really wanted to do in this film is to bring back all the great filmmaking skills, from miniatures to cinematic makeup and special effects, and combine them together, because that is the approach I prefer."

Serkis did not completely rule out the use of AI, noting that Peter Jackson, director of the previous famous "Lord of the Rings" film series, collaborated with software engineer Stephen Regelous to develop the AI-powered special effects software known as "MASSIVE" in the early 2000s.

Serkis said: "When we think about it, Peter Jackson created the MASSIVE software for the original 'Lord of the Rings' films, a program that enabled thousands of orcs to have their individual personalities. This is a great example of the amazing use of AI."

He added that AI can be a valuable creative tool "as long as it is not used for exploitation, does not harm anyone, does not defame anyone, and does not spread lies."

He continued: "I have said this before and I truly mean it: We are the parents of AI, and we must be good parents and teach it well. If we teach it well, it can help us in many industries."

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