Lord of the Rings Prequel The Hunt for Gollum Will Recast Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will feature a younger Aragorn as he attempts to track down Gollum (Andy Serkis) and the One Ring.
Don't expect to see Viggo Mortensen returning to Middle-earth any time soon.
The character of Aragorn—a.k.a. future King of Gondor—will officially be recast in the upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel film, The Hunt for Gollum (venturing into theaters December 2027), Andy Serkis recently confirmed.
Aragorn will be recast in Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hunt for Gollum
"I don't know what's out there at the moment, but I know there's a lot of speculation," Serkis, who is directing and reprising his role as the titular character, told ScreenRant in an interview published April 2. "But let's just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone."
Unless de-aging technology were to enter the equation—and it's not quite ready to carry an entire movie on its lonesome—the hunt (pun intended) for a younger Aragon makes a lot of sense, considering the project takes place between the events of The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring.
"It is a physical hunt for the character, but also a psychological hunt for himself," Serkis teased of Aragorn's efforts to track down Gollum and the One Ring before Sauron can get his hands on the precious object of immense power. "So, we're just about on the launchpad now, and it's very exciting. And yeah, it's going to be a big ride."
He continued: "A lot of the filmmaking techniques are ones that we are employing, which harken back to the first trilogy. I think it'll be a great marriage of a new story and an intimate story within the lore and world of Middle-earth that we all love. You've got to remember that for some people, this will be their first Middle-earth film. So that's why it's been such an interesting journey."
In addition to Serkis, Oscar-winner Kate Winslet (Titanic) recently boarded the Peter Jackson-produced adventure in a key, yet undisclosed, role. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen, meanwhile, are expected to return as Frodo and Gandalf, respectively. The movie is written by Philippa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Principal photography is expected to begin in New Zealand next month.
When does The Hunt for Gollum movie come out?
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently slated to arrive in theaters Dec. 17, 2027.
