‘Lord of the Rings' new movie ‘The Hunt for Gollum' officially makes major recast for spinoff

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has unveiled its main cast, though one character will look quite different to longtime fans of the franchise.

In a major recast, Warner Bros. Pictures announced during CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14, that Jamie Dornan will take on the role of Strider, the chief of the Northern Dúnedain Rangers who was later revealed to be Aragorn. The character was played by Viggo Mortensen in the original trilogy, which included 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002’s The Two Towers and 2003’s The Return of the King.

While some fans might be reluctant to accept the casting change, the move is seemingly necessary since the spinoff serves as a prequel to the trilogy’s first installment. The upcoming film takes place between the events of the Hobbit trilogy-2012’s An Unexpected Journey, 2013’s The Desolation of Smaug and 2014’s The Battle of the Five Armies-and The Fellowship of the Ring.

Set to be released in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027, The Hunt for Gollum centers around the titular Hobbit’s past and Strider’s search for the character then known as Sméagol. 

Although Mortensen was recast for the spinoff, several key cast members from the franchise will reprise their roles in The Hunt for Gollum. Among those confirmed to return are Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Andy Serkis (who is also directing the franchise’s latest installment) as Gollum/Sméagol and Lee Pace as Thranduil.

Dornan, 43, will not be the only new face in the film, though. Newcomers Kate Winslet and Leo Woodall are set to play matriarch Marigol and Strider’s fellow Dúnedain Halvard, respectively.

After Serkis, 61, confirmed plans to recast Strider for The Hunt for Gollum earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter pointed out that while Mortensen, now 67, was 40 years old when he shot his first Lord of the Rings film, his human character in the upcoming spinoff is supposed to be younger than he was in The Fellowship of the Ring. The timeline potentially made Mortensen a hard sell for the new project given Strider’s seemingly major role.

Meanwhile, the outlet speculated that McKellen, now 86, could likely still pass for Gandalf since he was already made to look much older than his age of 60 at the time of the first film and his face is partially hidden beneath his beard, wig and prosthetic nose. As for Wood, now 45, his likely minor role could allow for de-aging if necessary, according to the report.

Mortensen, for his part, previously weighed in on the prospect of returning as Aragorn in a May 2024 GQ interview.

“Sure. I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually,” he said of The Hunt for Gollum at the time. “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. 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.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 7:40 PM.