Next year, a new adventure heads to Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. While several familiar faces from Peter Jackson‘s LOTR trilogy will return, one integral role has been recast. It’s a polarizing decision, but one which will be for the best.
In The Hunt for Gollum, Jamie Dornan plays Strider, a ranger Gandalf summons to find Gollum. Strider is later revealed to be Aragorn, the character Viggo Mortensen played in three LOTR movies. Dornan plays a younger version of the iconic character.
Replacing Mortensen has been divisive, especially since LOTR staples Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood are returning as Gandalf and Frodo, respectively. However, judging by recent comments, Dornan understands how to portray Strider without infringing on Mortensen’s performance.
The Hunt for Gollum transition from Viggo Mortensen to Jamie Dornan will ultimately work
First, no one can replace Mortensen as Aragorn. It’s a legendary character in The Lord of the Rings, one that Mortensen will be associated with for life. Dornan fully understands the comparison and acknowledged the pressure of following in Mortensen’s footsteps in an interview with L’Officiel.
“Aragorn will always be just Viggo,” Dornan said. “His performance is one of my all-time favorites, and I feel honored to try to recapture at least some of the energy he originally brought to the character. There’s no part of me that’s trying to outdo him.”
Dornan has the right mindset for Strider. He needs to honor the character’s spirit without doing a Mortensen impression. If Dornan tries to outdo Mortensen, he will likely fail. Playing a younger version of Aragorn allows Dornan to give his own interpretation of the character, which should only help differentiate his performance from Mortensen’s.
Despite the sentiment that recasting doesn’t work, look to Marvel for examples of how things went right. Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton as the Hulk, and it’s been one of the MCU’s best casting decisions. Don Cheadle has been so good as James Rhodes that it’s easy to forget that Terrence Howard once played that role.
Dornan has big shoes to fill, but ultimately, it’s a risk worth taking.