The Hunt For Gollum: Andy Serkis CONFIRMS Aragorn Recasting; Viggo Mortensen Won't Be Back For Lord Of The Rings Film

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only is Andy Serkis back as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, he is also directing the upcoming film. Warner Bros. and New Line are backing two Lord of the Rings movies. The first film, The Hunt for Gollum, will have to do without a familiar face from Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning trilogy. Serkis confirmed that Viggo Mortensen will not be reprising his role as Aragorn. Instead, the role will be recast. Find out more about the upcoming fantasy adventure film, along with its confirmed and rumoured cast.

Aragorn to be recast in The Hunt for Gollum

In an interview with Screen Rant, actor-director Serkis revealed that yes, the role would be recast. Giving an update on the film, he stated there was a lot of speculation. Serkis confirmed, "Let's just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone."

As the title explains, the new film will take place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy and follow the search of Serkis' character Gollum. The filmmaker also explained that the feature would be "a physical hunt for the character, but also a psychological hunt for himself."

The Hunt for Gollum confirmed and rumoured cast

Besides Serkis reprising his role as Gollum, the film has one other official cast member, with Kate Winslet joining the film. However, the director is keeping her role under wraps for now. Besides Winslet, Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen are rumoured to return as Frodo Baggins and Gandalf, respectively.

As for the character of Aragorn, One Day star Leo Woodall is rumoured to play the part. So far, nothing has been confirmed but the British star was one of the actors named to join the upcoming film. Earlier, Wood had also hinted on a podcast that a new Aragorn might be cast. Speaking about his former co-star Mortensen, Wood had shared on Happy Sad Confused that “those are tough boots [to fill].”

New Lord of the Rings films

Original producer-director Peter Jackson is back to produce The Hunt for Gollum. The second film in development is being written by talk show host Stephen Colbert, who has stated he is a big fan of the franchise. He is currently co-writing it with his son, Peter McGee, and Philippa Boyens, a former Jackson collaborator. The Hunt for Gollum is releasing in theatres on December 17, 2027.