Andy Serkis confirms Viggo Mortensen won't return as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum: "We are recasting the role"

Just one day after Elijah Wood hinted at it, Andy Serkis has confirmed that Viggo Mortensen will not be reprising his role as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

"I don't know what's out there at the moment, but I know there's a lot of speculation, but let's just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone," Serkis told ScreenRant.

Some outlets are reporting that that someone is indeed Leo Woodall, mainly because of Wood's interview with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast. When Josh Horowitz brought up the forthcoming film, he noted that it would be a "tough act to follow" and said, "Leo Woodall, if that's true."

Wood replied, "Right, that is true. That's gonna be tough... Those are tough boots [to fill]... but that's gonna be great." I took this as a confirmation that Aragorn was going to be recast, not so much that it's definitely going to be Woodall.

Now, you might be wondering, 'If Sir Ian McKellan is returning as Gandalf, Wood is (most likely) returning as Frodo, and Serkis is playing Gollum... why can't Mortensen come back?' Well, this is because The Hunt for Gollum, a story that can be found in the appendices of the original Lord of the Rings novel, takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Therefore, this requires a much younger Aragorn. It's also worth mentioning that he's more or less the star of the film, as the story sees a fearful Gandalf send Aragorn off on a quest to find Gollum in the hopes that they can stop him before he divulges information about the One Ring to Sauron.

The Hunt for Gollum arrives on December 17, 2027. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies of the year.