Summary
- Warner Bros. is expanding the Lord of the Rings franchise with a spin-off movie about Aragorn.
- Bringing back Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn is a risky move due to his age and de-aging concerns.
- Aragorn’s return in “The Hunt for Gollum” could enhance the story, attract fans, and boost ticket sales.
Warner Bros. is heavily focusing on The Lord of the Rings franchise at the moment as they explore further stories and aspects of Middle Earth. The Hunt for Gollum is a confirmed spin-off movie being created, and while there aren’t too many details known about this, there is a lot of excitement about what could be focused on, given the popularity of Gollum as a character.
This Lord of the Rings film is slated to be released in 2026, with Andy Serkis in the lead role. However, another familiar face could also be returning to the franchise in the form of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, which is a risk worth taking at this stage.
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Why Is It A Risk?
The Hunt for Gollum is confirmed to be taking place between Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday and the Fellowship entering the Mines of Moria, which takes place within The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. That means this movie is going to require Aragorn to look a certain way, as fans will expect the character to appear as he does in the original Peter Jackson movie, which was released in 2001. That is where the big problem lies with bringing Aragorn back in this spin-off.
The character of Gollum is always going to look perfect because it’s created via motion capture. Therefore, Serkis’ age and how he appears doesn’t matter, as long as he can perform the character’s physical aspect. The same can be said for Gandalf, who is also expected to feature. The wizard is old in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; therefore, getting that right would only take a minor tweak. However, Mortensen has aged significantly in the time that has elapsed since he last stepped foot in the world of Middle Earth, which is only natural and to be expected.
Bringing him back would require some de-aging, a technique that has been used plenty of times over recent years in movies and television. However, it has brought a mixed bag of results, which is what makes it a risk. Having a character look poor in the movie would detract from the story being told, especially for someone who audiences are already very familiar with, such as Aragorn.
Why Aragorn Should Return To The Franchise
Bringing Aragorn back would be a moment of fan service that would make a lot of people happy due to how beloved the character is. He’s one of the lead roles from the original trilogy and hasn’t been seen since. Therefore, audiences will be genuinely interested in witnessing him return to add further aspects to his personal story. It also would feel like it would be in the right place within this particular movie, as there is an actual story that could be explored, which has yet to be seen before, and that would make his return understandable.
In an interview with The Playlist, Philippa Boyens, a member of the Lord of the Rings brain trust, also admitted they want to see him back. 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.”
The recent box office failure of The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim is likely playing on the minds of those in charge of The Hunt for Gollum. The animated film didn’t perform brilliantly, and having another Lord of the Rings project that flops would be an alarming problem for Warner Bros moving forward with future Lord of the Rings ideas. Adding a big nostalgic name that audiences are familiar with, such as Aragorn, would likely attract more attention and interest from franchise fans, which could be reflected in ticket sales.
What Could Aragorn Do In The Hunt For Gollum?
Within the novels, there is a story where Aragorn is tasked with hunting down Gollum by Gandalf, as the wizard is aware that he has information that could be useful moving forward. Given the title of the movie, it feels like Warner Bros is leveraging this; therefore, Aragorn’s presence in the movie is going to be an important factor.
Audiences won’t want to see a different actor take on the role as that would immediately take them out of the world, given that the original actors are playing other characters. That’s what makes having Mortensen return as Aragorn a risk worth taking because the story makes sense, is interesting, and could benefit the film while also linking into the overall plot of The Lord of the Rings, helping to enhance the entire franchise even further.
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