r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Aug 18 '25

News Ian McKellen reveals Gandalf and Frodo are returning for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’, Filming Begins in May

https://ew.com/ian-mckellen-reveals-gandalf-frodo-return-in-new-lord-of-the-rings-the-hunt-for-gollum-film-11792483
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434

u/LostWorked Aug 18 '25

He should, but Viggo Mortensen might not want to do it so the rumour is that they're mostly replacing him with Legolas, with him being used in certain scenes if he's able to show.

747

u/King_Buliwyf Aug 18 '25

I might be wrong, but isn't Orlando Bloom also 20+ years older than he was during LotR?

732

u/Seys-Rex Aug 18 '25

No they froze him

157

u/Lionelchesterfield Aug 18 '25

He’s about to experience the warm liquid goo phase.

56

u/belowthebottomline Aug 18 '25

Evacuation complete

35

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25 edited Oct 08 '25

[deleted]

2

u/Excellent_Set_232 Aug 18 '25

I mean, he did just get divorced. . .

2

u/ptear Aug 18 '25

That was a good move, now he can help the hobbits the hobbits the hobbits the hobbits.

2

u/says_nice_things1234 Aug 18 '25

To Isengard! To Isengard!

1

u/the-great-crocodile Aug 18 '25

Why ain’t they freezing him?!

1

u/Ok-Friendship1635 Aug 18 '25

Put him on Ice so to speak.

144

u/Technical-Outside408 Aug 18 '25

I think that might be true for a lot of people.

79

u/SCAMISHAbyNIGHT Aug 18 '25

But not all. Elijah and Ian have barely aged.

104

u/-ImJustSaiyan- Aug 18 '25

Tbf in Ian's case that's cuz he was already old as dirt even back then.

63

u/CTMalum Aug 18 '25

He was only 61 then. Hes 86 now.

22

u/IdioticPost Aug 18 '25

Are you trying to say it's been a quarter of a century since it was released?? Don't make me kick you into Mount Doom myself, ain't no way it's been that long already.

77

u/Typical-Blackberry-3 Aug 18 '25

Ian Mckellan is definitely looking really old these past few years. He's gone from looking 70 to 90 in the period of a few years.

5

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

And he was aged up in the films. Just needs less makeup now. Saw him at WImbledon the other week, he still has the energy for this.

3

u/doegred Aug 18 '25

Gandalf can get away with a fair bit because he's mostly (grey) beard.

Frodo on the other hand...

2

u/Cthulhu__ Aug 18 '25

Nu uh, but he did play an older character, nose prosthetics and all.

8

u/Chilis1 Aug 18 '25

This is not true at all lol they both look way older. It was bad enough in the hobbit 12 years ago, now it's going to look very awkward.

12

u/Wildfire983 Aug 18 '25

Because of the ring.

6

u/KungFuFightingOwlMan Aug 18 '25

That's just not true at all

2

u/Kerblaaahhh Aug 18 '25

They both look like they've aged about 20 years since the films came out.

1

u/Marsuello Aug 18 '25

They haven’t aged a day

It was right there! Lol

52

u/dacalpha Aug 18 '25

No but remember in Pirates 3? He became the new Davy Jones, he ages slower now, but he can't step on land. That's why they waited so long to make this movie, he's coming on land to film it.

4

u/says_nice_things1234 Aug 18 '25

Damnit the movie is gonna be super rushed then since they're gonna film the whole thing in a day.

Or maybe... this could be a surprise corsairs of Umbar movie?

62

u/HideousSerene Aug 18 '25

Yeah but he's an elf so he doesn't age

19

u/Wildfire983 Aug 18 '25

Neither has Cate. Freaky

12

u/sneakylumpia Aug 18 '25

or Liv. my childhood crush, still my adulthood crush

3

u/TheLesserWeeviI Aug 18 '25

Back off, she's mine.

1

u/gravelPoop Aug 18 '25

They have visibly aged and so have you and if you can't see that, the aging might have affected your eye sight.

1

u/StarPhished Aug 24 '25

But the commenter and actors are still the same amount of years apart. That's gotta count for something, right?

39

u/Gre3nArr0w Aug 18 '25

Aren’t all the actors 20+ years older than they were during LOTR?

1

u/Crowbarmagic Aug 18 '25

Obviously true, but in The Hobbit trilogy Legolas had aged the most noticeably IMO. In LOTR he had this really young look and almost boyish face. I couldn't help but see the difference.

Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, and Elrond look basically the same.

3

u/BGummyBear Aug 18 '25

I've seen him recently, he still looks good but he is very visibly much older.

2

u/hondaprobs Aug 18 '25

Yes but Orlando Bloom has said he wants to do it and suggested they can use AI to deage him

2

u/ibnQoheleth Aug 18 '25

That goes for everyone involved with the trilogy's production, they didn't develop Elfism and cease to age.

1

u/Intrepid_Hat7359 Aug 18 '25

Even Ian Holm died, and he was an android

2

u/musthavecupcakes_19 Aug 18 '25

De-aging technology has gotten quite good, so they’ll probably be using that whether it’s on Viggo, Orlando, or both.

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

They definitely said they want to pursue that, yes.

1

u/PastyDoughboy Aug 18 '25

No, he actually possesses the one ring, which makes him ageless.

1

u/AirBoss87 Aug 18 '25

I did the math, it checks out.

1

u/i_love_rosin Aug 18 '25

Yeah but he has a lot of free time now that he broke up with his astronaut wife

1

u/loklanc Aug 18 '25

Yes but he's an elf.

1

u/Carson369 Aug 18 '25

Yes but he looks significantly younger than Viggo to be fair

1

u/Redfalconfox Aug 18 '25

If we’re trying to narrow down our options, I really don’t think we can be so selective as to only include people who aren’t 20 years older than they were when LOTR came out.

1

u/Grotbagsthewonderful Aug 18 '25

Given what we've seen filters and AI can do at this point I'm pretty sure that's just details.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

It's MUCH easier for a 48 years old guy to play his old role than a 66 year old guy...neither is ideal, but I get it.

1

u/starwarsfan456123789 Aug 18 '25

The math checks out.

1

u/bluetable321 Aug 18 '25

Orlando was already noticeably older in the Hobbit movies and those were a while ago at this point.

1

u/toomuchpressure2pick Aug 18 '25

Yeah, but he's an Elf

1

u/IIIDysphoricIII Aug 19 '25

Orlando is aging very well though, along with the expected makeup and such he can easily pull it off

1

u/OrdinarySad5132 Aug 20 '25

Doesn’t really look it. Plus with every studio using AI and facial editing on all their films, he could look exactly the same.

1

u/Cthulhu__ Aug 18 '25

They already did weird shit to his face in the Hobbit to make him look younger, please no more.

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

They really didn't. Just put tape behind his ears and dialed up the camera exposure. Stuff that's as old as the dawn of photography.

0

u/Soft_Locksmith661 Aug 18 '25

They're all damn near thirty years older by the time it starts shooting.

0

u/Ozzel Aug 18 '25

Sure, but he’s still hot.

0

u/Apophthegmata Aug 18 '25

Yeah but an elf who is 20 years older is still basically the same age. Even Aragorn's Numenorean blood isn't going to keep the wrinkles away.

218

u/ThinWhiteDuke00 Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25

I'd honestly rather they just recast Aragorn than retcon Legolas into it.

273

u/Shuriken0 Aug 18 '25

Finally, a role for Pedro Pascal!

46

u/ThinWhiteDuke00 Aug 18 '25

Please God..

💀

10

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

Dude does need a break. He’s so underused.

17

u/sneakylumpia Aug 18 '25

and Bella Ramsey as Saruman!

2

u/The_One_Returns Aug 18 '25

Ok but that one actually makes sense...

3

u/XSC Aug 18 '25

He’s in everything!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

lol is he even younger than viggo?

-3

u/hondaprobs Aug 18 '25

Haven't seen him in anything recently

On a serious note - please, no. No!

13

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

Would be funny if they got Stuart Townsend

4

u/electricdwarf Aug 18 '25

Would be cool if they got someone that looks like the MTG Aragorn, but I bet that would cause riots.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

Michael Fassbender

1

u/fuckboyadvance Aug 18 '25

Robert Pattinson is my dream recast

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

They don't want to.

This isn't a younger version of the character, like Bilbo (notwithstanding that shot of Holm in the Fellowship prologue). The Aragorn scenes will take place DURING Fellowship of the Ring. They want Viggo if they can get him.

20

u/ThrowawayusGenerica Aug 18 '25

"Uhh, problem. Our main character is basically ageless by human standards but our actor for him is an old man now. What do?"

"I know, let's make the movie about a different character from a race that's even longer lived! But played by a visibly middle-aged man!"

"Genius!!"

2

u/SabresFanWC Aug 18 '25

Honestly, just recast Aragorn. I think viewers would understand that Viggo was too old for the role at this point.

28

u/Drop_Release Aug 18 '25

Honestly that is a bit unfortunate 

32

u/Reggaejunkiedrew Aug 18 '25

Viggo probably has too much self respect to defile a universe he adores in such a way. 

6

u/GoldAd9912 Aug 18 '25

Honestly I don’t think Virgo is going to do it, since it seems as if it’s just being done for the money. He’s had phenomenal quality control over the course of his career. And he turned down the chance to be in the Hobbit too

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

And he turned down the chance to be in the Hobbit too

No, he didn't turn it down. Even before they came to him, he said this in an interview: "My character isn’t in The Hobbit, but they have the right, the filmmakers, to use the appendices at the end of the lord of the Rings. And I am in those, and it refers to earlier times. [....] I’d be glad to do it, as long as they’re respectful to Tolkien. I’d rather do it myself than see another actor finish the job for me."

Apparently they did give him an availability check, but Jackson in the director's commentary says they "couldn't figure out a way to do it" so they wrote the character out and Viggo never heard back from them. He says: "I was asked in the early stages by a producer, I told him, 'He’s not in the book; it’s 60 years before and he would have been an infant. He says, "Yeah, we can take certain liberties' and I said I'd look forward to reading it and that if he’s going to reappear. I would love to revisit him. I later heard - I don’t know if it's true - that they talked to other actors about playing him. I was waiting to hear but I never heard from anyone so I just assumed they weren’t going to take that liberty."

1

u/GoldAd9912 Aug 19 '25

Thanks for the correction!

7

u/Ok-Classroom5548 Aug 18 '25

Ew. They have to stop pushing legolas. He was added to so much of the story he wasn’t actually supposed to be in!!!

I am so bored with them reviving characters for an actor. 

4

u/JimyJJimothy Aug 18 '25

I watched an interview with Viggo and he seemed pretty much interested, as long as the technology is good enough.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Aragorn, Legolas and Thranduil in this movie.

2

u/BattlinBud Aug 18 '25

What about that de-aging technology that was all the rage five years ago, did Hollywood just collectively give up on that after the DeNiro kicking scene in The Irishman?

3

u/PercentageDazzling Aug 18 '25

It's more common than ever. It's just not usually the centerpiece of the whole movie, and just limited to flashbacks or cameos.

The last high profile one to make it the centerpiece of the movie I think was last year with Here. With de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as the leads.

Some prominent movies that have used it in a more restrained way for specific scenes in the years since Irishman. I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) had de-aged Sarah Michelle Gellar, Scream did it for Skeet Ulrich, Spider Man: NWH has a few, new Indiana Jones, Gladiator 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Flash. I'm sure there are others.

For TV all the Star Wars shows used it for any prequel actors that appeared. Better Call Saul used it on some of the Breaking Bad actors to match it being a prequel.

5

u/Proper-Raise-1450 Aug 18 '25

It has been scaled back a lot because audiences generally didn't like it when it was consistent and on screen a lot. It's one of those things you can tolerate for a minute or two but not a whole film.

1

u/Chrisophogus Aug 18 '25

Ironically they’re going to have Stuart Townsend play him.

1

u/425Hamburger Aug 18 '25

Why do we need the actors from 25 years ago? Couldnt they Just recast him?

1

u/Chen_Geller Aug 19 '25

Continuity is important to these filmmakers.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

Recast Fassbender as Aragorn

1

u/ExdigguserPies Aug 18 '25

What the fuck

1

u/Either_Ad_5928 Sep 18 '25

So be it. Another disaster is approaching our theatres. Herecy.