Gollum was a big misstep, agreed; playing from Gollum's perspective for a few levels within a game could be fun, but not for an entire game.
There's also a Return to Moria game coming out later this year that looks fairly promising: https://www.returntomoria.com/
Lord of the Rings needs to be 'one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world,' Embracer interim COO Matthew Karch said in a recent speech to investors that also dealt with restructuring the company itself.
Gollum was a big misstep, agreed; playing from Gollum's perspective for a few levels within a game could be fun, but not for an entire game.
There's also a Return to Moria game coming out later this year that looks fairly promising: https://www.returntomoria.com/