Sources close to production say auditions are currently happening in London and Wellington, as revealed on the latest TORN Tuesday episode. 60 second clip below.
Andy Serkis is directing the next big The Lord of the Rings movie, currently titled ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ – a title which will be familiar to fans, from a well-known fan film made 15 years ago. Produced by Peter Jackson and written by the Oscar winning team of Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Rohirrim writers Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, The Hunt for Gollum is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Since the announcement of the new movie, fan discussion has been split about whether to recast or de-age the original actors. Some fans were put off by the obvious “Golden Girls” soft filters applied to Legolas in The Hobbit movies; other fans consider the original actors from the 25 year old LOTR movies the definitive versions of these characters. BTS video in The Appendices shows the commitment actors put into these roles.
A Chance for Book Accuracy
From the wonderful wiki Tolkien Gateway page on the book character, “Aragorn is described as “lean, dark, and tall,” with “a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes.”[45] Tolkien later wrote that he was at least 6’6″. In recent shows, Cliff & Justin have started championing a more eastern Mediterranean look for Aragorn that adheres closer to the book descriptions. JRR Tolkien doesn’t often describe the looks of characters, but Aragorn has specific traits that imply his Numenorian blood. Ralph Bakshi’s animated Aragorn is seen with Native American influences, and Magic The Gathering’s Aragorn was a brand new take. Maybe the movie casting should consider the rich diaspora of renditions of Aragorn, especially since this movie is set during his Strider / Ranger days. Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, Oscar nominee Dev Patel, or fan favorite Rahul Kohli would all make for an exceptional Aragorn, with all the emotional depth Tolkien’s character requires.
Too Old for a Numenorian?
Additional feedback from anonymous sources close to casting say that actors Sebastian Stan or Ben Barnes are “too old for the written character” – which is funny, given that Aragorn was original played by Stuart Townsend before he was replaced by the older Viggo Mortensen. Fans have long been fancasting actors like Ben Barnes or Sebastian Stan as young Aragorn.
Why has Viggo Mortensen passed on playing Aragorn again 25 years later? Earlier in 2024 while promoting his film The Dead Don’t Hurt he said, “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. 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.” In an earlier interview from 2017, Viggo Mortensen expanded on his 2014 comments that he felt The Hobbit was too CGI for his tastes.
“It’s personal taste. I personally like the extended version of the first movie because it was less computer generated, had more scenes one-on-one and [there were] lesser liberties taken, let’s say – that happens to be my preference. It still had the spirit of Tolkien, they had that nailed down all the way – it’s just my preference in the way I read him and I feel like the first one was more representative.”
It’s almost certain The Hunt for Gollum will be using more CGI and the latest in digital filmmaking, incorporating Weta Digital’s expertise from making 3 Avatar movies on mocap stages and the latest AI frame generation that Peter Jackson won Emmys for with The Beatles: Get Back. Andy Serkis and Peter Jackson have both expressed their affinity for the latest in AI tools, so there is no doubt this new movie will lean into new technologies.
Big Name or Unknown Actor?
Rumors really started to heat up in December 2025 when respected leakers at Knight Edge Media confirmed recasting was taking place. This aligns with gossip TheOneRing.net has heard – including that there is a favorite actor but we have not heard who it is. Further casting now in January 2026 may imply that initial choice passed because of scheduling conflicts. He must be a busy actor!
Extra whispers are that Andy Serkis is looking for someone Joe Keery’s age (from Stranger Things, the hottest show of the last 10 years); these actor options really expand the field. Fans have been reacting to the news about recasting Aragorn for the last week with equal enthusiasm and trepidation. It still is 50/50 on expectations. While we’re here, could the Sprouse twins be considered for Elrond’s twin sons? Dylan Sprouse is a huge LOTR fan and been on TORN’s podcast in the past.
Instagram and X fans are tagging their wish lists.
Want to join the conversation? Head on into the biggest LOTR Discord to chat about all the fancasting and gossip!
