Both Serkis and Viggo Mortensen have stated that Mortensen will not be reprising his role of Aragorn, so now it’s up to the studio to find a replacement to fill those particularly hard-to-fill boots. And it appears that they have in actor Leo Woodall (Vladimir, Nuremberg). The news has fans divided, with some decrying the casting, and others believing that recasting certain characters is the only way that the new films can move forward, especially as the original cast has long since aged out of their roles. “Ever since this was announced, I had assumed this would be a tour de force in radical de-aging tech, because I didn’t know how this was going to work. I’m torn because I was really hoping having all of the original cast return would add legitimacy to this,” said one fan.
The Only Thing Fans Can Agree On Is That They Can’t Agree
New Line Cinema
Taking to the internet en masse to discuss the new casting rumors that were seemingly leaked by Elijah Wood himself, fans of the original films can’t seem to agree on the best way to move forward with the odd timeline choice for The Hunt for Gollum. Speaking out against the recent Hollywood trend of attempting to de-age the original cast, one fan said, “This is good news, and anyone who thinks otherwise is out of their mind. Recasting needs to come back. I’m getting tired of de-aging and rewriting around an actor’s absence.”
Another user added, “I love the flicks, but bringing the old cast is a mistake. It’ll be a confusing vibe and just feels like nostalgia bait, instead of something fresh. The films aren’t the IP, and they shot them almost 30 years ago. Ian’s gonna look like De Niro in The Irishman, walking gingerly around like his bones hurt.” Most helpfully, though, one fan actually stated the truth of the matter, saying about Mortensen, “He is, ironically, way too old and the exact same age as Aragorn at the time this takes place.”
Overall, the movie is going to be a hard sell for fans. But recasting is the best call for this film; though it is being said that the movie itself is simply a nostalgia-induced cash grab, focusing on an awkward time in the story’s history that doesn’t need to be made into a film at all, when there is so much rich history from the novels that remains untouched, including a potential Fourth Age story, that would have allowed for the original actors to resume their roles at their current ages for a new, original story.
What are your thoughts on The Hunt for Gollum and the recasting of some characters and the return of others? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
