Will the real heir of Isildur please make themselves known?

Aragorn will be recast in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Andy Serkis says

Will the real heir of Isildur please make themselves known?

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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April 3, 2026 2:08 p.m. ET

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Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers'. Credit:

Aragorn, the son of Arathorn and heir of Isildur, will look a little different when he returns to the big screen in* **The Lord of the Rings: the Hunt for Gollum*.

The film’s star and director Andy Serkis confirmed that the role, famously played on screen by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson's *LOTR* trilogy, will be recast.

“I don't know what's out there at the moment, but I know there's a lot of speculation,” he told Screenrant, “but let's just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone.”

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'.

Serkis, who will be reprising his role as Gollum in the film, also teased a bit of what fans can expect from the new Middle-earth installment, which is set in between the events of *The Hobbit* and *The Lord of the Rings*.

“It's *The Hunt for Gollum*, and it is a physical hunt for the character, but also a psychological hunt for himself,” he explained. “We're just about on the launchpad now, and it's very exciting. And yeah, it's going to be a big ride.”

In recent weeks, rumors have swirled over who will be stepping into Strider’s shoes for the film, with many pointing to *White Lotus *alum Leo Woodall. Elijah Wood, who may or may not be reprising his role as Frodo in the film depending on who you ask, addressed Woodall’s potential casting in a recent *Happy Sad Confused** *interview.

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“I mean, it’s a tough act to follow for someone to play Aragorn, but Leo Woodall, if that’s true…” host Josh Horowitz said, to which Wood replied, “That is true. Those are tough boots, man. That is tough. I can’t imagine, but it’s gonna be great.”

On his end, Mortensen explained in 2024 *GQ* interview that he would be open to returning as Aragorn in *The Hunt For Gollum *under the right circumstances.

"I don't know exactly what the story is. I haven't heard. Maybe I'll hear about it eventually," Mortensen told the outlet. "I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. 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."

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Last August, Ian McKellen spilled the beans at a fan convention that both Gandalf and Frodo would be returning in *The Hunt For Gollum**.* Since then, several members of the Fellowship have expressed interest in reprising their roles in the project like Orlando Bloom, who played the Elven sharpshooter prince Legolas in both *The Hobbit* and *Lord of the Rings *trilogies.

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring'.

"Listen, I'd hate to see anyone else play Legolas, you know what I mean?" he told the *Today* hosts last September. "What are they going to do? Are they going to put somebody else in as Legolas?"

Bloom then jokingly added, “With AI, they can do anything these days!"

Wood echoed a similar sentiment in a recent *Sunday Times *interview, noting that he would like to continue to play Frodo onscreen for as long as possible. "I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able," he said.

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