Aragorn Has a Prominent Role in THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM and Producers Hope Viggo Mortensen Returns
The Lord of the Rings writer and producer Philippa Boyens is currently in the process of developing the next live-action film set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum.
Fans have been excited about the possibility of seeing characters from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy return. We already know there’s a role of Ian Mckellan’s Gandalf in the film, but now Boyens has revealed that they also want Viggo Mortensen to come back to play Aragorn.
During a recent interview with The Playlist, she shared that Aragorn has a prominent role in The Hunt For Gollum!
When asked if he would return, she said: “Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively and we are at a very early stage. 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.”
Well, I hope that he comes back! It would be awesome to see Mortensen back in the role of Aragorn after all these years! It’s good to hear that as of right now they are all communicating with each other and trying to make it work.
She went on to say: “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.
“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.”
If Mortensen decides not to come back, Boyens said: “We would still want him to be heavily involved, like how do we hand this character off. But literally that decision is several, several months away.
“He’s got to read the script first and that’s exactly what I’m going to be working on when I get out of this interview [laughs].”
Mortensen previously shared that he was open to returning to the role, and he discussed and said: "I haven't read a script. So I don't know. The script is the most important thing to me unless I'm broke, I have no money and I'm lucky to get any job. So it depends."
The actor also said: “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."
Boyens shared some details on the story and promised The Hunt For Gollum would be a gripping tale, saying:
“It’s quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria. It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”
Peter Jackson is producing the film along with his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens who will write the script along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Would you like to see Viggo Mortensen come back to the franchise?