Some news from middle-Earth and the universe of “The Lord of the Rings.” While no one will ever be able to top the performance of Vigo Mortensen as Aragorn son of Arathorn, we’re very curious to see how things shape up with “The Hunt for Gollum.” Timeline wise, the story takes place just before “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
According to our friends at The One Ring during their TORN Tuesday weekly chat, casting is actually underway for Aragorn right now. (Here’s the fun part- Aragorn doesn’t age like a normal mortal man, due to his Númenórean heritage. In ‘Fellowship,’ he’s canonically 87.)
The film, which Andy Serkis is directing, takes place roughly 20 years prior to “The Fellowship of the Ring,” acting as a bridge between “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” The story follows Aragorn and Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen is returning for the role) as they literally hunt for Gollum.
“The conversations I had over the weekend were with real people—not just anonymous names on the internet. Based on those conversations, auditions for Aragorn are taking place this week in London. Aragorn is being recast, with auditions happening both in London and New Zealand.”
The production is reportedly not interested in fan-favorite picks like Ben Barnes and Sebastian Stan, as they may not align with the creative direction of the story.
Obviously, we’ll let you know what else we hear about this and other news. “The Hunt for Gollum” currently has a release date of December 17th, 2027. Filming is reportedly starting in May of this year.
