Andy Serkis is keeping the casting file mostly closed for now, but he did make one thing clear: Viggo Mortensen is not sitting somewhere glaring at Jamie Dornan from across Middle-earth.
Appearing on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast in an episode released Thursday, Serkis told host Josh Horowitz that Mortensen has no hard feelings about Dornan stepping into the role of Aragorn for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
“I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for, you know, further down the line,” Serkis said. “I’m gonna save all discussion about casting. Other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie’s doing it. I mean, we’re, you know, we’re absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo.”
A major role changes hands
Mortensen played Aragorn across Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy, making the recasting a significant move for a franchise where actor-character associations are unusually durable. Dornan’s arrival gives the new film a fresh version of one of Tolkien’s central heroes while keeping the story connected to the screen world audiences already know.
Serkis is directing the film and will also return as Gollum, the motion-capture and voice role he made central to the original trilogy. The returning cast also includes:
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Lee Pace as Thranduil
The new additions include Kate Winslet as Marigol and Leo Woodall as Halvard.
Why Gollum is getting the spotlight
The film will follow the hunt for the corrupted Hobbit in the years before The Fellowship of the Ring, placing it between The Hobbit trilogy and the events of the original Lord of the Rings films.
Serkis said the appeal is not just nostalgia, but the chance to explore one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most psychologically tangled creations.
“There is so much more to be dug out of this very complex character — the most, perhaps, complex character [J.R.R.] Tolkien wrote, because he kept revisiting it as well, right? You know, multiple times,” Serkis said.
He added that the project grew out of “a desire for a series of return to Middle-earth movies,” with Gollum offering a strong entry point.
“To be able to bring some of the cast back, but also this is a very much more intimate story and a deep dive and psychological investigation into a character who has become, you know, sort of absorbed into public consciousness in a rather large way,” he said. “So, it sort of feels like there is a real relevance.”
The creative team returns to Tolkien
Original trilogy screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are adapting the Tolkien material with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Serkis said the story fits naturally into the franchise timeline and gives audiences a route back into Middle-earth without simply replaying the biggest battles.
“I think there’s still a wealth of stuff to be got out of the character, and it sits very neatly between the Hobbit trilogy and the Lord of the Rings,” he said. “And it is a great, I think, of bringing audiences back into this world.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled to open in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.
