News culture This Lord of the Rings fan film was removed from YouTube at Warner’s request, but fans watched
As you may know, Warner Bros. announced that the Lord of the Rings franchise would be returning to cinemas and that several projects were in the works. Just a few days ago we learned that a film about Gollum was in the works. However, this announcement had an immediate impact on a popular fan film.
The fan film titled “The Hunt for Gollum” was removed from YouTube following the film’s announcement
On May 9th Warner Bros. announced the production of a new Lord of the Rings film titled The Hunt for Gollum.. Directed by Andy Serkis, who played the character in Peter Jackson’s trilogy and was behind the camera… Poison 2. The director/actor should therefore logically reprise the role that made him known to the general public. The Hunt for Gollum is produced by Ken Kamins alongside Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish through their production studio Imaginarium Productions. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, producers, directors and writers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will return as producersobviously to bring the film in line with the Oscar-winning films.
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery also explained this All three will be “involved every step of the way.” This film, scheduled for 2026, will focus on Aragorn and Gandalf’s hunt for Golluma story already explored in a fan film of the same Made in 2009. With no resources, this fan film managed to win the hearts of fans by delivering a surprising and serious performance. Overall, this amateur production was a success viewed more than 13 million times… before it suddenly disappeared from YouTube. The reason is that this fan film s’appelle The hunt for Gollumand that Warner Bros. filed a claim from the famous platform for copyright infringement. A decision that caused outrage among fans, especially since this small production had been approved by the rights holders at the time, provided no profit is made of distribution.
Fans mobilize and Warner Bros. reverses its decision
In the face of fans’ anger and after some very serious arguments, Warner Bros. eventually backed oute and approved the return of the fan film to YouTube. Chris Bouchard, the fan film’s director, thanked the studio for his “elegance“and emphasized that his film was just one.”non-profit fan tribute“. This story highlights the complexities of copyright in the world of fan films. Although Warner Bros. had the right to have the fan film removed, its decision was viewed as unfair by many fans who saw it as an attempt to silence creativity This episode also shows how important the dialogue between the studios and the fans is. By allowing the return of the fan film, Warner Bros. has taken a small step towards the community.
And our film is back! We had an interesting day to say the least. Many thanks to WB for their kindness. And I also love all the Tolkien fans who remembered us. However, we are very pleased to have Andy Serkis himself telling this new story.
He also thanked fans for their support, as well as the film’s lead actor Adrian Webster. The latter told IGN that the fans and the numerous articles dealing with the film’s disappearance “helped get the film re-released on YouTube“”According to THR (The Hollywood Reporter), the takedown request was made in error for an automated search for content that may infringe copyright.
