Andy Serkis has found his Strider, as Jamie Dornan joins the Rangers.
More interesting news out of CinemaCon, the big studios-and-exhibitors love-in currently happening in Las Vegas. Director and actor Andy Serkis has found his Aragorn, with The Wrap reporting that Fifty Shades Of Grey and Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar star Jamie Dornan will play the Numenorean ranger and future king that some men do call Strider.
Aragorn, as you’re no doubt aware, was originally played by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings films. It was certainly a star-making role for Mortensen, who at the time was best known for showing up in the ensemble in stuff like Young Guns II, The Prophecy, Carlito’s Way, and it’s hard to picture anyone else in the role (sorry, Stuart Townsend).
Nonetheless, Mortensen is also 67, and given that The Hunt For Gollum is set more or less between The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, it was a case of either recast the role or put our faith in whatever the current state of the art of de-aging CGI is. It’s now been confirmed that both Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen may be reprising their respective roles of Frodo and Gandalf, so we may get very direct proof of which approach is better.
In other LOTR casting news, Dornan will be joined by Heavenly Creatures star Kate Winslet as Marigol, the matriarch of the Stoors, a subtype of hobbit, while Lee Pace will return as the elven king Thranduil. Leo Woodall (Nuremberg) has been cast as Halvard, a Dunedainian Ranger, while Andy Serkis will, of course, once again be playing Gollum.
Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum hits cinemas on December 17, 2027. Principal photography is expected to kick off shortly.
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