The Lord of the Rings' Viggo Mortensen Addresses Possible Hunt for Gollum Return

Mortensen would only reprise his role as Aragorn if it makes sense for the character.

By Russ Burlingame

Filmmaker Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis are coming back to the The Lord of the Rings franchise with the forthcoming movie The Hunt For Gollum, and now franchise star Viggo Mortensen has said he won't count himself out of it. The actor, who is promoting his new film The Dead Don't Hurt, said that he would at least consider a return to the role of Aragorn in the movie, as long as it was right for the character, and as long as his current age wouldn't be a problem for the story.

As the title suggests, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will feature Serkis' Gollum as its main character. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are writing the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is executive produced by Ken Kamins, with Serkis and The Imaginarium's Jonathan Cavendish. Peter Jackson is producing with Walsh and Boyens.

"I don't know exactly what the story is, I haven't heard. Maybe I'll hear about it eventually," Mortensen told GQ. "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."

Ironically, Aragorn's sword -- which Mortensen took home with him after filming -- will make an appearance in The Dead Don't Hurt. Why? Basically because the script called for a sword, and Mortensen already had a pretty great one.

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"For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien's works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision," said Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy in a joint statement when the movie was announced. "We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history."

Despite The Lords of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum having a 2026 release date, no story details about what the film will explore have been revealed.  

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