Lord of the Rings’ New Aragorn Actor Officially Opens up on Role’s Immense Pressure

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Published Oct 28, 2026, 1:05 PM EDT

Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast.

Replacing Viggo Mortensen is no easy task

Gandalf crowns Aragorn in Return of the King

It can't be easy taking over a role from an actor who so perfectly portrayed the character before. Yet that is exactly what Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey, Once Upon a Time) is preparing to do. He will play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, replacing Viggo Mortensen. Dornan admitted he's feeling the pressure.

In an interview with L'Officiel (via Slash Film), Dornan candidly said, "I've been asked to play a super-iconic role, and I'll do my best. But for me, Aragorn will always be just Viggo." Mortensen played Aragorn throughout Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Dornan added, "I feel honored to try to recapture at least some of the energy he originally brought to the character." As for how he'll approach the character in the shadow of what came before, the newcomer said, "There’s no part of me that’s trying to outdo him.”

Dornan will be in a unique position amongst the cast, as other iconic Lord of the Rings characters will be reprised by actors from the original films. This includes Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen as Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, respectively. Director Andy Serkis, who will once again portray Gollum, has revealed the film will use some digital de-aging technology for returning cast members, so the choice to recast Aragorn is an interesting one.

What is The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum going to be about?

The film is set to follow Aragorn and Gandalf as they hunt down Gollum for information about the One Ring. Details haven't been 100% confirmed, but it's likely The Hunt for Gollum will cover the time between Bilbo’s 111th birthday and Gandalf’s return to the Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Dornan will be joined by other newcomers to the Tolkien mythos including Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Lee Pace will reprise his role as Thranduil from the Hobbit films. Warner Bros. has scheduled the film for a Dec. 17, 2027, release in theaters. Before that, however, fans can return to Middle Earth in a matter of weeks when Amazon's Rings of Power season 3 premieres.

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