Lord of the Rings: Why Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn Didn't Return For The Hobbit

[Nergal]

 

 

Why didn't Viggo Mortensen decide to return as Aragorn in The Hobbit? Peter Jackson made cinematic history with his groundbreaking The Lord of the Rings trilogy and despite many Tolkien purists taking exception to some of the changes made in translation, the movies are largely faithful to the source material, certainly in comparison to Jackson's more recent adaptation of The Hobbit. Derived from only a single, modest volume, Jackson spread The Hobbit over an entire trilogy and incorporated ideas from elsewhere in Tolkien's canon that built towards major events in The Lord of the Rings, such as the Necromancer.

As part of The Hobbit's Jacksonification, several familiar faces from The Lord of the Rings were drafted in to further bind the two trilogies together. Aside from Gandalf, Elrond and Gollum, who all appear in the original novel anyway, the Hobbit trilogy also included Cate Blanchett's Galadriel and Christopher Lee's Saruman as members of the White Council. By far the most jarring film-only addition to The Hobbit, however, is Orlando Bloom's Legolas. Legolas' presence in The Hobbit arguably makes logical sense since he's the son of Thranduil and dwells in Mirkwood, but others might suggest the presence of a major Lord of the Rings character made for an unnecessary addition and a transparent marketing ploy.

In The Battle of Five Armies, Thranduil asks his son to search for a ranger by the name of Strider, referencing Viggo Mortensen's character from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but plans were initially afoot to physically include Aragorn in the Hobbit movies. According to Mortensen himself, an unnamed Hobbit producer approached the actor in 2008 to sound out a potential return for Aragorn. Mortensen declined by simply saying, "you do know, don't you? Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit."


Since this exchange occurred in 2008, the idea to bring back Aragorn can't necessarily be attributed to Peter Jackson. Although Jackson was involved at this early stage, Guillermo Del Toro was still in the director's chair and contributing to the script. With that said, the fact that Mortensen wasn't approached by Del Toro personally might suggest the Aragorn plan wasn't his doing either. A more likely explanation is that producers were exploring ways to ride on the coattails of Lord of the Rings' success and casually sounding out actors potentially willing to return. Orlando Bloom's presence in the Hobbit trilogy proves the notion was never dropped.

Even though many viewers were critical of Legolas' inclusion in The Hobbit, the elf is easier to integrate into the story than Aragorn due to the Mirkwood connection. If Mortensen had agreed to come back, his appearance would've likely generated even more controversy than Bloom's. In theory, Jackson could have altered the date Aragorn met Gandalf and delved into that duo's early dealings in addition to the Necromancer material, but this would've spawned a completely separate narrative, whereas at least Legolas could be worked into the central journey of Bilbo and the Dwarves.

Mortensen's respect for Tolkien's books and desire to be authentic to the source material would no doubt have earned him the admiration of many Middle-earth fans, but also highlights the vastly differing attitudes among Lord of the Rings cast members. While some were happy to expand and adapt their characters in ways original to the big screen, others were sticklers for fidelity. For example, Christopher Lee was an avid Tolkien fan and became famous for carrying copies of the books on-set for reference. Although he no doubt would've received a bumper payday, Mortensen might've recognized that his character's return in The Hobbit would not be well received and risked tarnishing Aragorn's cinematic legacy.

 

[Clown]

"you do know, don't you? Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit." - very nice attitude from Viggo, truly an artist