Hugo Weaving first portrayed Elrond, the half-elven Lord of Rivendell, in Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsfilms and reprised the role forThe Hobbittrilogy that followed. However, Weaving confirmed he has no interest in returning to the character for futureLord of the Ringsprojects.
In 2017, Amazon acquired global television rights toThe Lord of The Ringsandannounced plans to produce a seriesset before the events of J. R. R. Tolkien’sThe Fellowship of the Ring. The series is produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema with developers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay leading the writing team. The first two episodes of theLord of the Ringsseries will be helmed byJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomdirector J. a. Bayona, who also serves as an executive producer on along with his producing partner Belén Atienza.
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While the cast of theLord of the Ringsseries includes Robert Aramayo,Owain Arthur, and more as new characters to the franchise, the possibility of seeing familiar faces from Tolkien’s original stories is not out of the question considering Amazon’s show is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth. However, Weaving shot down the idea of playing Elrond again during an interview with Variety, saying, “no way. Absolutely no.” While Weaving noted that hemight have reprised his role as Agent SmithinThe Matrix 4had there not been scheduling issues, he believes his time with theLord of the Ringsfranchise is over. “Matrixmight have happened. ButLord of the Rings, no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it,” he said.
While Weaving has appeared in multiple blockbusters film since his time onLord of the Rings, includingCaptain America: The First Avengerand theTransformersfilms as the voice of Megatron, he now feels such high-profile projects would have to have a “different twist” in order to catch his interest. The Australian-based actor added that he’s more interested in projects that keep him closer to home, saying, “I’m not saying ‘no’ [to those kinds of tentpole films] because I’m sort of open to anything. But I suppose my interests have always lay with this country and trying to find really interesting projects out here. That’s my primary focus.”
Weaving’s decision to sit out of futureLord of the Ringsprojects may come as a relief, even to fans of his performance as Elrond. AfterThe Hobbittrilogyfailed to resonate with audiences, it may be best for all involved to move forward.
Still, others may find it hard to believe Weaving would turn down what could presumably be an easy paycheck. While Weaving’s decision may be baffling, from a financial standpoint, it certainly is admirable.
The Lord of the Ringsseries is expected to debut on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
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