Why Viggo Mortensen Hasn’t Appeared in a Franchise Movie Since LORD OF THE RINGS
By Movieguide® Contributor
Viggo Mortensen is known all over the world for his role in the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, but he recently revealed why he doesn’t have any plans to star in another franchise.
“I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories,” Mortensen said of his role-picking process. “It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”
Mortensen added, “That goes for franchises. If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”
With a new LORD OF THE RINGS movie on the way, THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM, some fans are wondering if Mortensen might reprise his role of Aragorn.
“Sure,” he told GQ UK. “I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character.”
The actor continued, “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.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mortensen elaborated on his opinion on a potential return.
“I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know,” the actor said. “The script is the most important thing to me unless I’m broke, I have no money and I’m lucky to get any job. So it depends.”
Movieguide® previously reported on THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM:
Andy Serkis is set to direct and star in an upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS movie, tentatively titled LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM.
“For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the LORD OF THE RINGS film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter [Jackson], Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens] have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision,” Warner Bros. Motion Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a joint statement.
Jackson is set to produce the movie, while Walsh and Boyens will write the screenplay and serve as producers.
“We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films,” De Luca and Abdy’s statement continued. “With Andy coming aboard to direct LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM (*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the LORD OF THE RINGS cinematic history.”
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