The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen is open to returning as Aragorn in upcoming live action film The Hunt for Gollum if it makes sense for him and the character.
Speaking to GQ, where he also revealed he used a sword from The Lord of the Rings in his latest film The Dead Don't Hurt, Mortensen said he enjoys playing Aragorn and learned a lot from his work on Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy.
When asked if he'd return for The Hunt for Gollum, which is the first of two confirmed live action films announced in May 2024, the 65-year-old Mortensen said it would need to align with him being older than he was in the two decade old trilogy.
"Sure," he said plainly. "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."
Whether or not it will make sense for an older Aragorn to appear remains to be seen, but since the film will feature Gollum, who, spoilers, died in the final The Lord of the Rings film, it will presumably be a prequel unless Warner Bros. Discovery mimics Star Wars and opens the film with: "Somehow, Gollum returned."
Gollum actor Andy Serkis is returning to star and direct the film, with Jackson on as producer alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Little else is known about the film, seemingly on the creators' side too, but it will seemingly be the first of many as Warner Bros. is "hard at work fixing" what it called a "largely underused franchise."
The Lord of the Rings was once a standalone trilogy but the canonical film universe is slowly but surely expanding, first through The Hobbit Trilogy but now through several other films and TV shows.
Amazon has continued The Lord of the Rings with its The Rings of Power TV show, Season 1 of which released in 2022 on Prime Video. The streamer announced it would renew the show for a second season before Season 1 even came out, with Season 2 set to premiere on August 29, 2024.
In February 2024, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne extended their partnership with Amazon, signing a new three-year deal with the company and kicking off early work on Season 3.
Elsewhere in Tolkien's world sits The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is an animated film set to tell the story behind the fortress of Helm's Deep and the mighty King of Rohan Helm Hammerhand when it premieres on December 13, 2024.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/the-lord-of-the-rings-star-viggo-mortensen-open-to-returning-as-aragorn-in-the-hunt-for-gollum