The Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers, Viggo Mortensen, 2002 New Line/Courtesy Everett Collection Logo text A different actor is going to fill Strider’s boots.
Andy Serkis confirmed for the first time that the role of Aragorn will be played by a new actor in his upcoming The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hunt for Gollum.
Speaking to Screen Rant, Serkis said that the role played by Viggo Mortensen in the original trilogy will be recast.
“I don’t know what’s out there at the moment, but I know there’s a lot of speculation, but let’s just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone,” Serkis said.
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Directed by Serkis (who also reprises his motion-capture role as Gollum), The Hunt for Gollum tells of events that took place between The Hobbit trilogy and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Aragorn and Gandalf set out on a quest to find Gollum to acquire more information about Bilbo’s mysterious ring.
What’s been “out there” has been a pretty widespread assumption among fans that the role would be recast given that Aragorn is central to The Hunt for Gollum story — perhaps even the main character — and Mortensen hasn’t been announced as returning (while Ian McKellen confirmed he would be returning as Gandalf last year).
In addition, Elijah Wood has strongly hinted he will be returning as Frodo (“I’m not able to officially say anything until it’s announced, but I will say I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film … There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together … I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able”).
Recasting Aragorn does make sense as the human character is younger in the new film than his first appearance in The Lord of the Rings. Mortensen was 40 years old when he first started filming The Fellowship of the Ring and is now 67. Having McKellen reprise Gandalf is a bit easier as the actor was made to look older than his 60 years when playing Gandalf, and his face was somewhat hidden under a long beard, wig and prosthetic nose. If Frodo appears in the film, his role is likely rather minor, and de-aging is always an option for the (still very youthful looking) 45-year-old Wood.
But when Hunt for Gollum was announced in 2024, Mortensen suggested to GQ he would be open to playing the character again, saying, “Sure. I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”
Director Peter Jackson is back on board as a producer, along with his producing partners on the earlier films, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is planned for a Dec. 17, 2027 release.
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