Actor Hugo Weaving’s performance as Elrond in the Lord of the Rings franchise may be legendary, appearing in six movies and making the Elf a fan-favorite character, but he has no interest in ever reprising the role.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ recently about his current project Slow Horses, in which he delivers a terrifying performance as the villainous Frank Harkness according to our Slow Horses season 4 review, we asked him if he would ever return to Middle-earth in the wake of new movies being announced.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that prequel The Hunt for Gollum is in the works as part of a new batch of movies that are the first live-action Lord of the Rings films to be released since The Hobbit trilogy. While Weaving’s co-stars have expressed their desires to return, including Gandalf himself Ian McKellen and Aragorn star Viggo Mortensen, the Elrond star admits his time in Middle-earth is over.
As he reveals: “Personally, I’ve had enough of that. It was great being in New Zealand on and off over a ten year period. I did then go back and work with the same team [director Peter Jackson and writer Fran Walsh] on a project called Mortal Engines which was going to be their next big franchise, but it died on its arse. So, I’ve had enough of Middle-earth I don’t imagine anyone would ask me to do it again.”
Continuing, Weaving added that even if he wanted to return, he’s unsure how that would work given that Elrond is an immortal being. He says: “Elrond is meant to be immortal and I’m aging. Elrond is one of the few characters, I think there’s only three or four of them, who spans through The Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. But even when we went back to reshoot certain parts of Lord of the Rings, I was aware I was older than I was before. And shooting stuff on The Hobbit was starting to get slightly silly. I loved being a part of that franchise but I have absolutely no plans or desires to be a part of it anymore.”
One person who is definitely returning for Hunt for Gollum is Andy Serkis. Not only will he be reprising his role of Gollum but he will also direct the new feature.
Weaving is currently starring in Slow Horses season 4, with the finale airing October 9 via Apple TV Plus. Meanwhile The Hunt for Gollum currently doesn’t have a release date aside from 2026.
Whilst we wait, check out our guide to how to watch The Lord of the Rings movies in order and our breakdown of The Lord of the Rings timeline.
