Apr 16, 2026 10:44am IST
Jamie Dornan as Aragorn in “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” Is an Inspired Choice
Breaking News for Middle-earth: there’s a new Aragorn in town. As part of Warner Bros.’ Cinemacon presentation in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the primary cast for the Andy Serkis-directed “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” was revealed. And Jamie Dornan has been officially cast as Strider, a character immortalized on screen by Viggo Mortensen, who played the Dúnedain ranger Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s trilogy.
Dornan’s casting comes as a massive surprise, especially with Leo Woodall’s name also on the poster, but for another character. It was confirmed that Mortensen would not be returning, and the role was to be recast. However, recently, during the promotions for "Ready or Not 2," Elijah Wood, who is returning as Frodo Baggins in The Hunt for Gollum, had spilled the beans that Woodall had been cast as the new Aragorn.
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The fan reactions were telling, considering Woodall resembles Sean Astin’s Samwise Gamgee more than the ranger from the north. The CinemaCon announcement has now revealed he will still be playing a Dúnedain ranger, Halvard, who joins Strider in the hunt for Gollum.
But let’s talk about Jamie Dornan as Aragorn for a minute. Compared to the reactions to Woodall’s casting, the ones to Dornan’s have been interesting. There are naysayers and those willing to give it a chance. And some are even genuinely excited.
One can almost picture the 41-year-old Irish actor as the hardened descendant of great kings of the Westernesse. He’s definitely the right age. Viggo Mortensen was 43 years old when he was cast as Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" in 1999. Dornan is 41. He’s the right height, too; at 5 ft. 9 inches, he may be nowhere close to book Aragorn’s towering 6 feet 6 inches, but he matches Mortensen’s perfectly.
What made Mortensen’s Aragorn such a hit was the sincerity and hard work he put into the character, almost becoming him, as was revealed in the behind-the-scenes commentary of Jackson’s trilogy. He’d committed to living like a ranger, hiking mountains and spending time in costume when off the set. He had picked up sword fighting like a pro, and the sword master called him the best swordsman he’d ever trained. Mortensen even carried his blade everywhere! He reportedly insisted on more Elvish dialogues to stay true to the character, which is another major parameter the new Aragorn's performance would be tested on.
Jamie Dornan does indeed have big shoes to fill, with the burden of expectations not getting any lighter. Poetic, considering Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, son of Elendil, too, is weighed down by the legacy of his ancestors. Although anyone who has watched Dornan play the Huntsman / Sheriff on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” knows he’s done the tracker gig before and looks great in armor. And that can be a good starting point. There’s also no denying that Dornan is a fantastic actor in films like “Belfast” and series like “The Fall,” and could do justice to a character that is one of the most beloved fictional men on screen.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” sticks to the original trilogy cast that includes Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and, of course, Andy Serkis as Sméagol aka Gollum. The film is set over the 17 years between Bilbo Baggins’ disappearance on his eleventy-first birthday and Frodo's departure from the Shire with the One Ring. And that means the fantastic Lee Pace also returns as Elven King Thranduil, the ruler of Mirkwood and father to Legolas. Kate Winslet is another new addition, playing a character named Marigol. The film will release on December 17, 2027.
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