Andy Serkis confirms that they are looking at new actors to play Aragorn in The Hunt for Gollum

The Hunt for Aragorn

Set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hunt for Gollum follows Aragorn’s perilous quest to capture Gollum before the creature can reveal the ring’s location to Sauron. The story hails from J.R.R. Tolkien‘s footnotes. The big question for this film is if Viggo Mortensen would return to play Aragorn with some obvious de-aging tactics or will someone new play him. ScreenRant now reports that Andy Serkis has confirmed that the production will cast a newer, younger actor to unsheathe his sword. In a recent interview for Serkis’ Animal Farm, he explained,

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.”

Wanting Mortensen to return

Trying to find a way to include Mortensen was not without a lack of trying. Producer Philippa Boyens explained late last year that Mortensen had been approached about a potential return. “Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively and we are at a very early stage,” she said. “I’ve spoken to Viggo, Andy [Serkis] has spoken to him, Peter [Jackson] has spoken to him, we’ve all spoken to each other and honestly, I cannot imagine anyone else playing Aragorn, but it will be completely and entirely up to Viggo.“

“I know Andy wants to work with him, but also, we don’t see this as like, using A.I. [technology], this is about a digital make-up, and whether Viggo does it or will entirely depends on how good the script is,” Boyens continued. “And he doesn’t have a script yet. So to be fair to Viggo, let’s see if we write a good enough role and that he can find enough in it to see that it’s a performance he wants to take on. After that, it’ll be between Viggo and Andy of how that is achieved.” The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently slated for a December 17, 2027 release.

The next entry

It was recently announced that the next entry, sporting the working title Shadow of the Past, will include scriptwork by Late Show host Stephen Colbert. Colbert, who is a lifelong Tolkien devotee, will write the next film along with Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee. The movie is set to be produced by WingNut Films in association with Spartina Industries. The official synopsis of Shadow of the Past reads, “Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo – Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”

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