Jamie Dornan says he feels the weight of following Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” and he does not plan to claim the part from his predecessor. Dornan spoke with L’Officiel Italia, in comments translated and relayed by several outlets this week. He acknowledged the pressure of stepping into footsteps that large. “Aragorn will always be just Viggo,” he said.
Dornan does not play the king audiences met in Peter Jackson’s trilogy. He plays the younger Strider, a Dúnedain Ranger, in a story set between “The Hobbit” and “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The film follows Gandalf’s effort to find Gollum, with a young Aragorn sent to hunt the creature, and it unfolds from Gollum’s perspective.
Andy Serkis directs and returns as Gollum. Ian McKellen plays Gandalf again, and Elijah Wood and Lee Pace also reprise their roles as Frodo and Thranduil. Kate Winslet plays Marigol and Anya Taylor-Joy plays Seren. Leo Woodall, who sat beside Dornan for the Italian interview, plays a fellow Ranger named Halvard. Warner Bros. has set a theatrical release for Dec. 17, 2027.
Mortensen, who played Aragorn across the 2001-2003 trilogy, will not appear. He has said he would return only if it served the character, and Serkis has said both the filmmakers and Mortensen are happy with the project. Dornan, best known for “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “The Tourist,” faces a fan base that has treated the original casting as untouchable. Some commentators argue the younger, rougher version of the character gives him room to build something distinct rather than compete with a performance viewers already know by heart.
The recasting arrives as Warner Bros. expands its Middle-earth slate. Filming began earlier this year, and Jackson has confirmed that a second film, “The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past,” is in the scriptwriting stage after rumors that it had been cancelled.
