Viggo Mortensen Teases Return As Aragorn For The Gollum Movie

Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy is over twenty years old. Just writing that hurts my knees. The three films were a massive achievement. They felt big and epic and tangible in a way modern “big ticket” films do not. They appealed to wide audiences and cleaned up with critics and at awards shows. Everyone recognized their greatness. Despite Jackson returning to Middle Earth for three Hobbit films, the original trilogy felt kind of untouchable. But, things change.

First and foremost, new Lord Of The Rings films are on the way from Warner Brothers Discovery. Peter Jackson will be involved in their development, which is kind of comforting. Still, the most comforting thing would be to just… not make the films again. Simply re-release the originals. Do it as much as you want, Zaslav, people will go. But David Zaslav doesn’t listen to me, so what was old will be made new, and they’re starting from a slightly different angle.

The first of the new Lord Of The Rings movies will cover the journey of Gollum. The former halfling turned ring-addict was brought to life in the early 2000s by the incredibly talented Andy Serkis. In the new film, currently titled The Hunt For Gollum, Serkis will return to both star in and direct the film. It has been teased that several of Serkis’s former co-stars may appear in the movie. Now, one particular actor has offered their conditions for a return.

Viggo Mortensen played Aragorn in the original movies. It will, likely, be the thing he is most remembered for. His performance was filled with compassion, nuance, and a stare that could cut through a diamond. The word iconic gets thrown around a lot these days, but that’s what Mortensen’s portrayal of Aragorn was. It also felt preserved in amber, as Mortensen was one of several actors who did not return for Jackson’s Hobbit films (not that there would have been a great way to include the son of Arathorn). That may change with The Hunt For Gollum.

Mortensen was recently talking with the folks at The Hollywood Reporter. The Gollum movie came up, and Viggo revealed if he would return to the franchise. “I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know,” Mortensen noted. He continued, saying, “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.” A bit of a cheeky answer in the latter half, but it still makes sense. Maybe Jackson can entice Mortensen with a script that blows his mind. More likely, though, is the prospect of a very profitable cameo. Time will tell.