Elijah Wood confirms Viggo Mortensen will be replaced in The Hunt for Gollum

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will indeed be replacing Viggo Mortensen as Middle-earth’s legendary Dúnedain, Aragorn II.

Reports of One Day and The White Lotus actor Leo Woodall being cast as the character made the rounds recently, and after months of fans speculating, it has now been confirmed.

Leo Woodall will officially play Aragorn in the Andy Serkis-helmed Lord of the Rings movie, as original star Elijah Wood confirmed the news himself in a new podcast.

Elijah Wood Confirms 2 Hunt for Gollum Castings

While speaking with Josh Horowitz on his popular Happy Sad Confused podcast, Wood was asked about the casting reports regarding Woodall taking over as Aragorn.

When asked about it, Wood responded: “That is true.”

“That is true. Those are tough boots [to fill], man.”

“That is tough,” he added.

“I can’t imagine… but, that’s going to be great.”

Wood also confirmed that Kate Winslet will indeed have a role in the movie, following reports that she had been cast as the female lead.

Some speculate she will be playing Sméagol’s grandmother, while others believe she could be playing Aragorn’s mother, Gilraen.

It should be noted, not that it’s really a secret at this point, that Wood himself is more or less confirmed to be reprising his role as Frodo alongside Sir Ian McKellen’s Gandalf.

McKellen announced that both Frodo and Gandalf would be in the movie, but heavily implied they would be returning for it, as opposed to passing the torch to someone new.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum comes to theatres December 17, 2027.