‘Lord of the Rings’ Crew Want Viggo Mortensen in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

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As a veteran movie critic with a lifetime of cinematic experiences tucked under my belt, I must say that the prospect of Viggo Mortensen reprising his iconic role as Aragorn in “The Hunt for Gollum” has me positively giddy! The idea of delving deeper into Middle-earth’s rich lore and seeing our beloved characters once more is a tantalizing proposition.

The “Lord of the Rings” film series will make its grand return to cinemas soon with Andy Serkis’ upcoming movie titled “The Hunt for Gollum.” This new production will see a reunion of beloved characters from Peter Jackson’s trilogy, including Gandalf and even Gollum himself. The film promises an exciting journey into the past, focusing on uncovering more about the mysterious title character. Additionally, “The Hunt for Gollum” aims high as it plans to enlist a Ranger of the North to aid in tracking down the notorious villain once known as Sméagol.

As a die-hard movie enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share some intriguing news about “The Lord of the Rings.” In an exclusive chat with The Playlist, our beloved series scribe Philippa Boyens hinted at the possible comeback of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in Andy Serkis’ upcoming movie. Boyens revealed that she and other key creatives behind the franchise have reached out to the actor himself. It appears Aragorn has a significant part to play in “The Hunt for Gollum,” a prequel story set just before the events of “Fellowship of the Ring.

As far as I’m concerned, the decision ultimately lies with Viggo. We’ve had discussions among ourselves, including Andy [Serkis] and Peter Jackson, and we’re still in the early stages. However, given my personal feelings, it’s hard for me to envision anyone else embodying Aragorn as skillfully as Viggo. Yet, the final choice is entirely his to make.

Some people might be curious about how this would actually play out. In “The Hunt for Gollum”, Aragorn would need to appear as a younger character than the one portrayed by Mortensen in earlier films, since it was decades ago when he first played the role on screen. Boyens has confirmed that Mortensen will indeed return, and this will be facilitated through “digital makeup”. This technique is expected to de-age the actor for the prequel. At the moment, the main hurdle is that the script has not been delivered to Mortensen as of yet.

Andy desires to collaborate with someone, but it’s not about employing AI technology; instead, we’re talking about digital makeup. Whether Viggo will do it or not depends heavily on the quality of the script. Since we don’t have a script at the moment, it’s only fair to wait and assess if we can write an engaging role that appeals to Viggo. Once we have a compelling character for him, the decision between Andy and Viggo will be made regarding how they’ll execute this collaboration.

It’s fair to assume that VFX studios will soon find themselves occupied with reassembling the Lord of the Rings cast in the impending prequel. Ian McKellen has hinted at his own return as Gandalf, a development likely to involve some form of de-aging technology. Interestingly enough, Mortensen would be older than McKellen was when he initially played Gandalf if Aragorn appears in The Hunt for Gollum. While it’s exciting to consider the nostalgic aspect, there might be alternative ways to bring these legendary characters back to the silver screen.

What ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ Needs to Avoid While Bringing Back Iconic Characters

In order to steer clear of a similar issue that arose when Mark Hamill reprised his role as young Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian, Disney opted for a deepfake technique where they superimposed Hamill’s face onto another actor. However, the outcome was quite striking, to put it mildly. On the positive side, it appears that if necessary, the team behind Lord of the Rings is willing to recast Aragorn while still involving Mortensen in the process, as stated by Boyens.

I think we’d prefer him to stay involved, especially regarding the transfer of his character. However, that choice is months down the line as he needs to read the script first, which is my next task after this interview.” (Laughs)

The film titled “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” is scheduled to hit theaters in 2026, giving the studio ample time to decide on the approach for the franchise’s iconic characters. It appears likely that Aragorn and Gandalf will play significant roles in the story, but the manner in which they are incorporated could either elevate or undermine the movie. If it’s not a brief appearance, digitally de-aging Viggo Mortensen throughout “The Hunt for Gollum” might be too challenging an endeavor with limited benefits. However, if anyone can pioneer cutting-edge visual effects technology, it could be Andy Serkis.

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2024-12-04 19:01