Jamie Dornan is already addressing the controversy about his casting as Aragorn/Strider in next year’s Lord of the Rings spin-off film The Hunt for Gollum. While speaking to Dornan and his co-star Anthony Mackie about their new television series 12 12 12, Josh Horowitz asked if the former was nervous to take on the Aragorn role following Viggo Mortensen’s legendary performances in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Dornan acknowledged that he does feel pressure for his portrayal to satisfy the global Lord of the Rings fanbase. But he also downplayed the idea of him replacing the older actor and reiterated that the original films will also always be as great as they are, and that The Hunt for Gollum team does not intend to alter their legacy.
Dornan elaborated that he loves Mortensen’s work as Aragorn and studied it closely after taking on the role, but also argued that he must make his version of the character distinct in some ways, and said “the last thing in the world I should be doing is a Viggo Mortensen impression,” because “that wouldn’t work.” While Dornan’s respect for Mortensen and passion for the franchise are commendable, and he’s likely correct that trying to portray the character identically would result in a poor performance, his comments don’t directly address the concerns fans have about The Hunt for Gollum and his casting.
The reason many fans are wary of Aragorn’s role in The Hunt for Gollum is because of the time period the film takes place in and the fact that other members of the original trilogy’s cast are reprising their roles. The Hunt for Gollum has consistently been described as mostly taking place during the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The 2027 film will focus on a period after Smeagol/Gollum (Andy Serkis) escapes imprisonment by the Dark Lord Sauron’s forces after telling them Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) had the One Ring and before he briefly encounters the Fellowship in the Mines of Moria.
The novel Fellowship is based on and other works by J.R.R. Tolkien reference Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) sending Aragorn to track Gollum for part of this period, before instead having him escort Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the Ring to the Elf community Rivendell. But while this means Aragorn’s role in the new film doesn’t divert from the written canon, many fear that seeing Dornan, or any actor other than Mortensen, playing the role alongside the latter’s old cast mates (Wood, McKellen, Serkis, and possibly more) in the same time period Mortensen’s version was featured in, will itself be off-putting.
The recasting has often been attributed to the need for an actor like Dornan who is a similar age as Mortensen was at the time the trilogy was filmed, but this doesn’t make sense given McKellen and Wood’s inclusions. Their appearances will have to be disguised with makeup and visual effects to make it look as if they are the same ages they were when Fellowship was filmed, so there’s no reason the same couldn’t be done for Mortensen if he had agreed to reprise his role. Viewers are left to assume that Mortensen declined to appear in the film and ultimately, it’s hard to imagine that the recasting won’t be a major distraction, regardless of how strong Dornan’s performance may be.
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