Andy Serkis' The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum seems to be shaping up to be more of a reunion for the cast and crew of Peter Jackson's acclaimed trilogy than we first realised, but one pivotal actor is not expected to return to Middle-earth.
Though Serkis (Smeagol/Gollum) is the only actor that's been officially confirmed to reprise his role, it seems likely that Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) will be back, and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Elijah Wood (Frodo) have indicated that they may also appear.
Viggo Mortensen has expressed interest in possibly playing Aragorn again if he felt that the script was up to par, but recent reports have claimed that a younger actor is being sought to play the heroic Ranger. Now, we may know who will take over the role.
According to scooper Daniel Richtman, "Leo Woodall is in talks for the main male role in The Hunt for Gollum (besides Gollum himself). The character hasn’t been named, but I assume it’s Aragorn/Strider."
Woodall is an English actor who gained recognition for his role in the second season of The White Lotus, and can currently be seen as the title character in Netflix's Vladimir. If he is indeed up for the role of Aragorn, we're not sure how well his casting would go over with LOTR fans.
Thanks to his Númenórean heritage, Aragorn ages much more slowly than a normal man (he was 87 during the War of the Ring), and The Hunt for Gollum is only set around 20 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Woodall is 29 and looks significantly younger.
It's worth noting that Aragorn's age is only brought up in the Extended Edition of The Two Towers, so it's entirely possible that The Hunt for Gollum will simply ignore the fact that he really wouldn't have looked all that younger during the prequel's timeline.
In related news, Jeff Sneider said he heard that The Hunt for Gollum will be the first film in a new trilogy during this week's episode of The Hot Mic.
Knight Edge Media is also reporting that Woodall is in talks for the role.
This time period is mentioned in both Tolkien's novels and Jackson's films, with Gandalf and Aragorn attempting to track Gollum down before he falls into Sauron's hands. In the movies, the wizard says he "searched everywhere for the creature Gollum," but "the Dark Lord found him first." In the books, Aragorn reveals that he did manage to capture Smeagol ("he bit me... and I was not gentle") near the Dead Marshes, but wasn't able to get any information out of him.
“It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement when the film was announced. “As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
“Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa,” added Serkis. “With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”.
“For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision,” WBD film chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca added. “We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic history.”