Andy Serkis Says Viggo Mortensen Is “Thrilled” About Jamie Dornan Taking Over Aragorn in THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM

The return to Middle-earth is charging forward and one of the biggest talking points surrounding The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is the recasting of Aragorn, with Jamie Dornanstepping into the role made iconic by Viggo Mortensen.

Now, Andy Serkis has chimed in with a surprising update that might ease some concerns. Serkis, who returns as Gollum and also directs the film, recently spoke on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and kept things mostly under wraps.

Still, he did drop a key detail about how Mortensen feels about the new casting choice, and it’s not what some fans might have expected.

“I really, really don’t want to go into it right now because I do want to save that for further down the line. I’m going to save all discussion about casting. Other than that, we are thrilled that Jamie’s doing it. I mean, we’re absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo.”

According to Serkis, there’s no bad blood over Dornan stepping in as Aragorn, also known as Strider. If anything, it sounds like there’s support behind the scenes. Mortensen isn’t returning to the role because the creative felt they needed a younger actor in the role.

The film itself is shaping up to be a major reunion. Alongside Serkis, we’ll see Ian McKellen back as Gandalf, Elijah Wood returning as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace once again playing Thranduil.

As for the story, Serkis isn’t giving anything away just yet. “I say nothing at this point about the story,” though he did confirm that “we’re just about to start shooting.”

While fans may still be adjusting to the idea of a new Aragorn, it sounds like the original actor is happy about who was brought in to replace him. It will be interesting to see if Dornan can bring something fresh to the character while honoring what came before.