Everything to do with Andy Serkis' plans to make new movies within the The Lord Of The Rings franchise remains extremely tentative at this point—but that now includes multiple tentative expressions of interest in coming back to the film series from members of its former cast. We previously reported on Ian McKellen sounding game to revive the role of Gandalf for a movie like Serkis' The Hunt For Gollum, which we can only assume has now kicked off a wave of actors from the franchise being asked similar questions every time they get near a microphone for the next two years, minimum. In this case, Orlando Bloom, who was promoting his new boxing movie The Cut, has made it clear that Peter Jackson pretty much only has to call if he wants him back for the new films, which the director is producing.
Bloom, who played Legolas in the original films, told Variety that "If Pete says jump, I say, ‘how high?’" when it comes to returning to Middle-earth. Making it clear that he doesn't know anything official about the plans to expand the franchise, Bloom said he did have a conversation with Serkis about logistics some time ago. "I was like, ‘How would that even work?’ And he was like, ‘Well, AI!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’" The implication, presumably, being that de-aging technology will be applied to Bloom's handsome-but-human face to make him more closely match up with the ageless elvish archer he first played in 2001.
Bloom's attitude toward the project highlights one of those thing that have always stood out about Jackson's LOTR films: The cast seemed to have a genuine blast making them, despite having to devote multiple years of their lives to the New Zealand-based endeavor. Bloom called the period "a pretty magical time in my life," while McKellen, who's now 85, clearly maintains an affection for his role. The Hunt For Gollum is scheduled for a 2026 release at the moment; meanwhile, the franchise returns to theaters for the first time in a decade on December 13, with animated feature The War Of The Rohirrim.
