Elijah Wood: I Do Not ‘Want Anybody Else to Play Frodo as Long as I’m Alive and Able’

Elijah Wood is still not confirming whether or not he will return as Frodo in the next “Lord of the Rings” movie, 2027’s “The Hunt for Gollum,” but he is making it known that he does not want any other actor taking over the part. As Wood recently told The Sunday Times: “I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo as long as I’m alive and able.” The actor’s quote was published amid unconfirmed reports that Leo Woodall could be taking over the role of Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen in the new film.

via: Deadline

“It hasn’t been officially announced, but at a convention last August, Ian sort of let the cat out of the bag,” Wood told the publication. “So there is a good chance. I’m not able to officially say anything until it’s announced, but I will say I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film. It’s always a little nerve-racking when people talk about new movies for a world like Middle-earth. Everyone gets a little protective and hopes it retains its level of integrity, but this story is fun, thrilling. There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together.”

Set for release in late 2027, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will tell the story of what happened between the end of The Hobbit prequel trilogy and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings.

“I’m just excited,” Wood continued. As the interviewer noted that McKellen previously expressed he would not allow anyone else to play Gandalf, Wood answered: “Well, no, and I totally get that. I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able. And I can also recognize what fun that is going to be — when you are in the cinema and you see the hat turn around and it’s Gandalf. Because I’m also a fan, and excited to see how it all comes together.”

Beginning in 2001 with the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film of the Peter Jackson-helmed trilogy catapulted Wood to a new stratosphere of stardom as he took on the lead role of Frodo, the protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien’s books who is charged with a noble quest to save Middle-earth. In addition to the three films, Wood reprised the role in 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The new installment will reunite the Oscar-winning team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies — Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens — as they produce two new films for Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. Zane Weiner is also producing. Walsh and Boyens are writing the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.