Can Viggo Mortensen Still Play Aragorn In Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum?

Viggo Mortensen was immortalized in the hearts and minds of Tolkien fandom when he took up the role of Aragorn, son of Arathorn, in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Mortensen wasn't the first choice for the role (more on that in a minute), but he ended up inhabiting the beloved character from the books so perfectly that, for many, there is no other option for the exiled King of Gondor.

Despite the character's inaccurate hesitations over assuming the throne and his non-canonical beard, Mortensen's Aragorn has become part and parcel of the "Lord of the Rings" experience. The question is (and it isn't hypothetical), can anyone ever replace him on screen?

Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced a new Middle-earth movie with the working title "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum." Set to release in 2026, the project has an army of Middle-earth alumni at its back. Peter Jackson is producing, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are writing, and Andy Serkis is directing and returning to his role as everyone's favorite Slinker, Gollum.

"The Hunt for Gollum" is most likely a reference to a side quest that takes place right before "The Lord of the Rings" story, where Aragorn helps Gandalf by tracking down and retrieving Gollum for interrogation. (There is already a popular fan film about the hunt for Gollum, but that isn't stopping the studio from rehashing the interesting but short story.) With Aragorn figuring prominently in the tale, this means Jackson, Serkis, and company are going to have to make (or possibly already have made) a tough choice in the near future. Should they ask Mortensen to reprise the role twenty years later, or is it time to recast the on-screen version of the character?

The most important question is, can you bring an actor back 20 years later to play a character in a prequel? In this case, the surprising answer is probably yes. In fact, it's definitely yes. Viggo Mortensen is in his mid-60s and still looks great.

Another factor to keep in mind is that Mortensen wasn't the first choice for Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings." Stuart Townsend was originally cast, but a week into filming, Jackson had to swap him out for Mortensen. The reason for the switcheroo? The 27-year-old Townsend was too young for the part. Mortensen was in his early 40s at the time and had the perfect look for the hale, resilient 87-year-old Ranger.

If you're wondering how someone in their early 40s can play someone in their late 80s, the answer lies in Aragorn's unique ancestry. The ranger is technically part immortal (ever so slightly) and comes from a lineage of kings that, at their height, lived for centuries at a time. Aragorn himself doesn't die until he's 210. He ages to adulthood and then remains in the primacy of life and health for decades.

This makes it much easier to imagine a 65-year-old Mortensen playing the role without much of an issue as far as looks and performance are concerned. Aragorn even acts like a veteran adventurer. He's capable of fighting and exerting incredible strength when necessary, but never unnecessarily. But, for instance, in "The Fellowship of the Ring" book, when the question of foraging and hunting comes up, he says, "gathering and catching food is long and weary work, and we need haste." Translation: let's not waste time and energy if we don't have to.

Okay, so Mortensen could play Strider again as far as the source material is concerned. Is the actor up for returning to the role, though? The good news for Mortensen Aragorn purists is that, based on fairly recent data, it appears that this isn't an issue.

First, the story aligns with a natural return to the screen for Aragorn. This is important as Mortensen famously turned down a role in "The Hobbit" trilogy since Aragorn isn't in that story.

As far as his general willingness, in an interview with Collider in 2021, Mortensen was asked, point blank, if "The Lord of the Rings" is a world he would ever be interested in returning to if there was a reasonable way to do so. In this case, it was in relation to Amazon Studios' then-unreleased "The Rings of Power" series. In response, Mortensen said, "Yeah, why not? Tolkien, that's a universe. There are so many influences. The foundation of his stories is Celtic mythology and history, and Nordic mythology and history, and languages. That's fascinating. There are endless amounts of things you can learn and have fun adapting to the big screen or the little screen."

That was just three years ago. In that same interview, he praised Peter Jackson more than once as a master at his craft. With many of the same cast and crew, the same studio, the same adaptive universe, and even a canonical explanation for a return, the stars are aligning for Viggo to don the Aragorn persona. Now we must watch and wait to see if Mortensen's mindset hasn't changed and if the powers that be at WB are willing to make it happen.