J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will depict the creature's untold story when it releases in 2022. Few works of fiction are as beloved as The Lord of the Rings, the seminal fantasy novel series originally published between 1954 and 1955. The history and lore of Tolkien's Middle-earth and the larger universe surrounding it are exceptionally deep, but the advent of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum brings up the same question that any other posthumous adaption of Tolkien's work: Is it canon?
The chief issue with this question is in determining what parts of Tolkien's legendarium actually make up the canon in the first place. Only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (plus the supplemental The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and The Road Goes Ever On) were published before Tolkien's death in 1973. However, Tolkien had many other, unfinished manuscripts relating to The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion, the infamously unadaptable and most famous collection of these manuscripts, was compiled by Tolkien's son, Christopher, and published in 1977. Many other works pertaining to the legendarium, including the twelve volumes of The History of Middle-earth, were also published posthumously.
Bearing all of these scattered works in mind, many simply consider any of the works written by J.R.R. Tolkien canon. This does, however, bring up other issues, such as contradictory information owing to Tolkien crafting the world over decades and making constant revisions. Still, it does clears up the question pertaining to The Lord of the Rings: Gollum: No, the game is not canon, even though Gollum does fit nicely into the timeline.
The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum s Many Non-Canon Adaptions
The Lord of the Rings' legendary status in the fantasy genre makes it an almost sacred text. Media in the LOTR universe seems to always be in demand, thanks to the IP's popularity, yet none if it will ever come close to the heights achieved by Tolkien's texts in the eyes of fans. Even Peter Jackson's critically lauded and fan beloved films fall victim to the non-canon status. Jackson's films are fairly faithful adaptions (except for the notorious removal of Tom Bombadil), but they aren't the work of Tolkien himself.
Gollum, then, suffers the same fate as Middle-earth: Shadow of War and its sequel - it takes place in Tolkien's universe but is widely perceived as not truly being a part of it. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum could tread extremely carefully, not contradict anything Tolkien ever wrote and avoiding all known occurrences involving Gollum, but it would still be rejected when considering the series' canon. Still, the sheer size of Tolkien's universe can allow for many surprising adaptions like The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, and fretting over canonization shouldn't detract from the enjoyment of Tolkien's mythology.
