LOTR Star’s Hilarious Condition for Returning in Hunt for Gollum

If there’s a role for Viggo Mortensen in the new Lord of the Rings film, “The Hunt For Gollum,” he has specific criteria before he decides to participate.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mortensen candidly shared his decision-making process regarding potential new roles.

Mortensen, who portrayed Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, was asked about returning for the new LOTR films. He provided insights into what would influence his participation.

“I haven’t read a script,” Mortensen said. “So I don’t know. The script is the most important thing to me unless I’m broke.”

He added, “I have no money, and I’m lucky to get any job. So it depends.”

Given that Jackson, along with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, is involved in the new films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy, it seems likely the script will be compelling. However, Mortensen’s involvement may hinge on his financial situation at the time. Deadline reported that Warner Bros. has secured the rights to produce more Middle Earth films, suggesting there’s much more to come.

The new Gollum-centric features are planned as a two-film series, with Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens collaborating to revive the franchise. Andy Serkis will reprise his role as Gollum and also direct the project.

In a recent interview with Deadline, Jackson expressed his long-standing fascination with the Gollum/Sméagol character. “Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, while his Sméagol side is arguably quite sympathetic,” Jackson said. “I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike because there’s a little bit of both in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films. It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.”

It is still unclear whether Aragorn will make an appearance in the new films. When asked about other potential reprising roles, Serkis was non-committal. “I don’t want to commit to anything right now,” he said. “It’s so raw and wriggling, and we are just in the very early stages of script discussions, brainstorming ideas about where to anchor the character and his journey. We don’t yet know how he might interact with other established characters, or new ones. I would hate to say anything definitive at this point, as it’s all still up for grabs.”

Therefore, only time will tell if Viggo Mortensen will end up reading another Lord of the Rings script. If the script meets his expectations, it seems he would be willing to come on board. Conversely, if it doesn’t impress him but he needs the money, he might still return to Middle Earth.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline