Jamie Dornan Confirms He’s Wrapped His Scenes as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Jamie Dornan, who is stepping into Viggo Mortensen’s boots as a young Aragorn in Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, has confirmed that his work on the film is done. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in an interview run by Variety on November 11, Dornan recalled learning he had landed the role: “I cried. I actually cried.”
Dornan Wraps His Scenes in New Zealand
Dornan described the casting as deeply meaningful, calling it an honor to step into a role so closely tied to Mortensen’s performance across the original trilogy. He also confirmed a concrete production milestone, revealing he wrapped his own scenes roughly three weeks before the interview aired, which points to his last day on the New Zealand shoot falling around the week of October 19. That timeline lines up with director Peter Jackson’s own update from the Sitges Film Festival on October 10, where Jackson said the production had about two weeks of shooting left, suggesting a full wrap around October 24. Dornan gave the same timing in a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, joking that he even crossed paths with Stephen Colbert in New Zealand before filming ended there.
Jamie Dornan, who takes over the role of Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen, says his scenes for The Hunt for Gollum wrapped in October.
A Young Aragorn Before the Crown
The Hunt for Gollum is Serkis’ fifth feature as a director, and he also returns in front of the camera as Gollum through motion capture. The story follows Tolkien’s appendices, with Gandalf asking a younger Aragorn, then known only as the Ranger Strider, to track down Gollum before Sauron’s servants can find him, placing the film’s events between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. Ian McKellen reprises Gandalf, Elijah Wood returns as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace is back as the elven king Thranduil, a role he first played in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. They are joined by newcomers Kate Winslet as a character named Marigol, Leo Woodall as the Dúnedain ranger Halvard, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Seren, an original character created for the film. The Hunt for Gollum is set for a theatrical release on December 17, 2027, 24 years to the day after The Return of the King opened in the United States.
Following in Viggo Mortensen’s Footsteps
Dornan has been careful about how he discusses Mortensen since his casting was announced at CinemaCon in April. In an October interview with L’Officiel Italia, he acknowledged the pressure of following the original performance and made clear that, in his own mind, Aragorn will always belong to Mortensen first. Mortensen himself appears to have embraced the handoff, as Serkis has said on a podcast appearance that Mortensen is happy to see Dornan take on the part. The wider Lord of the Rings franchise is already back in the spotlight this week, as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returned to Prime Video for its third season on November 11.
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Picture Source: Miguel Discart & Kiri Karma (CC BY-SA 2.0), Sebaso (CC BY-SA 4.0)
