Why Lord of the Rings’ New Movie Has Recast Aragorn (& What To Know About Viggo Mortensen’s Replacement)

A new Lord of the Rings movie with Aragorn is happening, but it’s official that Viggo Mortensen won’t be part of it. The franchise’s next movie, The Hunt for Gollum, will find Aragorn, aka Strider, working with Gandalf and other Middle-earth characters to track down Gollum before the forces of Sauron can find him. Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo), and even Lee Pace (Thranduil) are all returning, which makes the recasting of Strider more surprising, with Jamie Dornan stepping into the iconic role.

Andy Serkis, who will direct the movie as well as reprise his role as Gollum, had previously confirmed that a recasting would happen, with Aragorn’s actor confirmed at Warner Bros’ CinemaCon presentation. What hasn’t been made official, though, is the exact reason why Mortensen isn’t returning. However, given the involvement of the other returning actors, it seems a reasonable bet that this was his decision, and that he didn’t want to reprise a role that would almost certainly require hefty CGI de-aging (since it’s set around the time of the original movie). That would align with Mortensen’s comments about returning for The Hunt for Gollum in 2024, where he said:

“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.”

While the others are returning, the work to bring them back might be easier: Frodo’s role will presumably be relatively small, and Gandalf is already supposed to look old. Aragorn is supposed to look younger than his years, and as well as Mortensen has aged, the character would be front and center of the search for Gollum, likely meaning the most extensive de-aging of the bunch.

Jamie Dornan Is A Good Choice For Aragorn – But Will It Even Matter?

What Mortensen did as Strider/Aragorn will be almost impossible to beat, but if someone has to step into the role, Dornan is a good choice. The actor has the right look, and more importantly, he has the range to play the character. While he might still be best known to many as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades movies, he’s more than proved himself in the likes of The Fall, The Tourist, and Belfast. He’s charismatic, but also capable of a quiet intensity, brooding, and commanding presence, which should fit well with the character. His other upcoming roles include Love Is Not the Answer (Michael Cera’s directorial debut) and playing twins in Netflix’s TV show The Undertow.

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It will be somewhat jarring to see another actor in the role, especially when several other actors are returning, but Dornan deserves to be given a chance. Whether he will be is another matter. Recasting any major franchise character is always going to be a point of contention, and there’s already plenty of doubt around The Hunt for Gollum‘s story and whether it’s something that really needs to happen, given the relatively thin premise and strong legacy of the first three Peter Jackson movies.

If the movie has to happen, and the only way to bring Aragorn into it was either heavy de-aging or recasting, then this does feel like the better approach. CGI de-aging has proved questionable at best, and it’s harder if doing it for a full movie and would distract from Mortensen’s return. Dornan will hopefully be able to at least honor the original performance, while still doing his own thing so it’s not just an imitation, and hopefully The Hunt for Gollum can prove the doubters wrong. We’ll find out when it hits theaters on December 17th, 2027.

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