Audiences will be able to return to Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth in 2027, when Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is released, but it is imperative that the film recast its biggest and most important star. With returning characters including Frodo and Gandalf, the film looks to tap into direct nostalgia from the past trilogy.

There has been no shortage of Lord of the Rings content recently. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons played to some mixed reception on Prime Video, while the anime film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, made only $20 million in its entire global theatrical run.

This next film, a live-action story directed by Andy Serkis, needs to be a bigger success. There are already some worries about callbacks in The Hunt for Gollum, and while some components should feel familiar, it is necessary that the film also bring in some new pieces. Recasting of one original star would be an important step in this.

Viggo Mortensen Should Not Return As Aragorn In The Hunt For Gollum

The Hunt for Gollum must recast the role of Aragorn. While Viggo Mortensen was the perfect choice to play the character in the original films, he was 40 years old when cameras began to roll in October of 1999.

The actor is now 66. While he still seems to be in fine shape, Aragorn’s age as a part of the Dúnedain race, descended from Numenor, is a complex factor that needs to be shown in the new film.

Aragorn is 87 years old during the original films. The character canonically lives until he is 210, showing that his race of men ages at a much slower rate. Considering the age of the character, it would be hard to justify Viggo Mortensen’s clearly changed appearance even in a direct sequel to The Lord of the Rings.

Instead, The Hunt for Gollum is a prequel to most, but not all, of the events of the previous films. The timeline for The Lord of the Rings shows that the story takes place between Bilbo’s 111th birthday party, when he disappears, and the time that Frodo sets out from The Shire to head toward Rivendell.

During this period, Gandalf sets out to find Gollum, while Sauron does the same. They both believe that he holds important information about the One Ring. Gandalf works alongside Aragorn to make this happen, which sets up the character’s introduction in the original trilogy.

In the novels, these events takes place sometime within a period of 17 years, meaning that Aragorn’s age could be anywhere from 70-87 during these events. The timeline was condensed in Peter Jackson’s films, so Aragorn’s age in the new film will likely be closer to his age in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Considering Aragorn’s slow aging, it is important that the character, at most, looks exactly as he did in the original trilogy. While there is technology to do this, it would not be the right choice for the new film.

De-Aging Technology In Movies Is Too Distracting

While Sir Ian McKellen will be able to return as Gandalf with only makeup to enhance his look due to the Istari’s fairly consistent, elderly appearance, de-aging technology would be required to allow Viggo Mortensen to look right as Aragorn. The technology to do this certainly exists, but it would be the wrong choice for the new film.

Even in the best de-aging scenes, the technology is distracting. While sometimes effective in look, there are elements of the performances that betray the images. Robert De Niro in The Irishman was effectively made to look decades younger, but the actor’s movements did not match this youthful veneer, which has led to criticism of the film overall.

Even in the best results, de-aging is a distracting element. As computer-generated technology continues to grow and change with time, these images have tended to age poorly. It is important that The Hunt for Gollum use practical effects wherever possible in order to allow the films to last as effectively as the original trilogy.

Granted, Andy Serkis is masterful with motion-capture technology, and if anyone could craft a convincingly de-aged Aragorn with Mortensen, it would be him. However, with the character being such a major part of the story, this would become a needlessly costly endeavour. The right move here is simply to recast the role with a younger actor.

Bringing in Elijah Wood is a difficult choice, as his character may also need to be digitally de-aged. However, it is almost certain that Frodo will only play a small part in the story, and Wood’s appearance is still youthful, which could allow makeup to do much of the heavy lifting in re-creating his original look.

Clearly, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum wants to preserve its connections to the original trilogy wherever possible. Those films are beloved, and it is essential that the new project feels faithful to their spirit whenever possible. While recasting Viggo Mortensen is a difficult choice to make, it is necessary for the success of the new film.