After two years of speculation, the full cast for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum was finally revealed at CinemaCon last month. For months, we’ve heard that Viggo Mortenson wouldn’t be returning as Strider/Aragorn and that Leo Woodall would be replacing him. The casting announcement confirmed the first part of those rumors and disproved the second part. As it turned out, Jamie Dornan was cast as Strider and Woodall is playing Halvard, a fellow Dúnedain ranger helping him search for Gollum.

When the cast list was revealed, a lot of fans, myself included, had mixed feelings about the recasting. Viggo is 67 now and the story takes place during the same time period as the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, so there would probably be physical training and de-aging involved. However he was so perfectly cast as Aragorn that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Andy Serkis, who is directing and returning as Gollum, was on this week’s episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. When Horowitz brought up the recasting, Serkis declined to give much detail about it, but revealed that Viggo was happy about the casting and had given his blessing.

There are apparently no bitter feelings when it comes to Jamie Dornan being recast as Viggo Mortensen’s beloved character Aragorn (or Strider) in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

During a chat with Josh Horowitz on Thursday’s episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the film’s director and star, Andy Serkis, said Mortensen is very pleased that Dornan is taking over the helm.

“I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for, you know, further down the line,” Serkis said when asked about Mortensen’s decision not to reprise the role. “I’m gonna save all discussion about casting. Other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie’s doing it. I mean, we’re, you know, we’re absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo.”

Horowitz replied, “Oh, good, seal of approval, that means a lot,” with Serkis adding, “100 percent.”

Mortensen, whom the men called a “class act,” discussed a possible return to Aragorn in 2024, admitting it all depended on whether the character would fit into the story.

“I don’t know exactly what the story is. I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually,” he told GQ at the time. “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”

Although Serkis didn’t expand on his discussions with Mortensen, he did mention that he’s so excited to work with returnees Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo), and Lee Pace (Thranduil), as well as newcomers Dornan, Leo Woodall, and Kate Winslet, who will play Strider, Halvard, and Marigol, respectively. Serkis is not only directing the film, but he’s set to portray the titular creature, which he played in Peter Jackson’s original LOTR trilogy as well as The Hobbit trilogy.

As for who the main protagonist of The Hunt for Gollum is, Serkis teased, “I say nothing at this point about the story.”

He did, however, reveal that filming is imminent. “We’re at a kind of crunch stage now; we’re just about to start shooting. That’s what I’ll say, you know, we’re not far off shooting,” he told Horowitz.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

It’s nice to hear that Viggo is happy about Jamie taking over the role. I believe that he made the decision not to return, so I have no doubt that he’s made his peace with someone else playing his iconic character. It’s interesting that Serkis didn’t want to talk about the casting process until closer to the film’s release. I wonder if he’s just superstitious about it working out or if he’s saving some sort of future big headline-type reveal that Viggo has some involvement in his replacement. I have no doubt that we’ll get more information in the future.

While Viggo may be “thrilled” about Jamie’s casting, Jamie is going to have to work hard to win fans over. Viggo really nailed Aragorn’s strong yet tortured ethos, so those are very big shoes to fill. Jamie is a good actor, so I’m cautiously optimistic that he can pull it off. Even if Jamie does match Viggo’s performance, he’s still going to have to prove one big thing: Can he throw open a set of doors in the absolute sexiest way possible? I’m just saying. That will be the real litmus test to see if he really is Isildur’s Viggo’s heir.

photos credit: Rocío Ruz/Europa Press/Avalon, Michael Stewart/INSTARimages.com, James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon