Viggo Mortensen’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Return Hinges on the Script ‘Unless I’m Broke’

Whether or not Viggo Mortensen returns for the new Lord of the Rings movies depends on the script.

“I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know,” Mortensen told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Sunday, June 30. “The script is the most important thing to me unless I’m broke, I have no money and I’m lucky to get any job. So it depends.”

This is not the first time Mortensen has addressed his potential return to Middle-earth. Speaking about the new films with GQ in May, Mortensen said he wanted to avoid returning to the role of Aragorn for “silly” reasons.

“I don't know exactly what the story is, I haven't heard,” he told the outlet in an interview last month. “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."

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Mortensen famously portrayed Aragorn in Peter Jackson ’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy, based on the fantasy novels of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien . Mortensen also had to be convinced to take on the role in those initial films, only agreeing to play the secret royal at the insistence of his son, Henry.

Warner Bros. Discovery originally announced new LOTR movies were in the works in 2023. CEO David Zaslav provided an update in May, saying that new Lord of the Rings movies were “in the early stages of script development” and the company “anticipate[s] releasing in 2026.”

Zaslav added that the movies will “explore storylines yet to be told.” The first film is currently under the working title Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum . Andy Serkis will reprise his role of Gollum from the original film trilogy and is set to direct the first of two new films from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures.

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“Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa,” Serkis said in a statement at the time, per THR .

Jackson, who helmed both the original films and The Hobbit trilogy from 2012-2014, “will be involved every step of the way” as well, per Zaslav, along with longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens .

“It is an honor and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that stinker — Gollum!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement. “As lifelong fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with [WBD film chiefs] Mike De Luca , Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”