Original Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen approves of his Lord of the Rings recast in Hunt for Gollum

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While Aragorn is set to feature in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie The Hunt for Gollum, he won't be played by Viggo Mortensen.

Instead, Jamie Dornan will take over the role. According to director (and Gollum actor) Andy Serkis, though, Mortensen has given his approval to the recast.

"I really, really don't want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for further down the line," Serkis said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "We're at a crunch stage now, we're just about to start shooting. We're not far off shooting. So, I'm going to save all discussion about casting, other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie's doing it. We're absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo."

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While Aragorn won't be played by Mortensen, a number of familiar faces are returning. Elijah Wood is back as Frodo, and Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf, while Lee Pace will return as Thranduil. Newcomers to the cast are Leo Woodall as Halvard and Kate Winslet as Marigol.

One actor who doesn't seem to be back, however, is Orlando Bloom as Legolas. "I have not heard a peep, actually. I don't know. I know it's focusing on Gollum, so anything's possible," Bloom said in 2025. "Listen, I'd hate to see anyone else play Legolas, you know what I mean? What are they going to do? Are they going to put somebody else in as Legolas? With AI they can do anything these days!"

The film is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's appendices and is set in between Bilbo Baggins' 111th birthday (as seen in The Fellowship of the Ring) and before Frodo sets off on his quest. In this time, Gandalf sends Aragorn to seek Gollum, concerned that Gollum could reveal information about the One Ring to Sauron.

The Hunt for Gollum arrives on December 17, 2027. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming movies from this year and beyond.

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Molly EdwardsSenior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.

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