The Lord of the Rings franchise is timeless, which is why the powers that be continue to go back to the well. A Gollum movie is in the works, and a few stars are open to returning. Hugo Weaving isn’t looking for a reunion, though, as he’s done with Middle-earth.
Portraying Elrond in Peter Jackon’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as two of the Hobbit movies, Weaving got to play in the Middle-earth sandbox for well over a decade. So, with new roles on the table, he’s not looking to return to an old one, even if it helped his rise to stardom.
“Personally, I’ve had enough of that. It was great being in New Zealand on and off over a ten year period,” he told Games Radar. “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.”
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Weaving is also looking out for continuity. “Elrond is meant to be immortal and I’m aging,” he continued. “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.”
Weaving’s attitude is a far cry from two of his Lord of the Rings co-stars, Ian McKellan and Viggo Mortensen, who seem very open to reprising their roles for Andy Serkis’ upcoming project. That doesn’t mean he can’t change his mind down the line, but as it stands, don’t count on Elrond’s soothing voice being present in The Hunt for Gollum.