Summary:
- Orlando Bloom is eager to reprise his role as Legolas in new Lord of the Rings films if Peter Jackson invites him.
- Bloom expressed excitement about the potential return and the use of AI in the upcoming projects.
Just days after Ian McKellen shared his interest in reprising his role as Gandalf in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movies, Orlando Bloom has also expressed his enthusiasm for returning to Middle-earth.
When asked by Variety if he’d be open to playing Legolas again, Bloom replied, “Oh, man, those things are amazing. Yeah. I don’t know how they’d do it. I guess with AI you can do anything these days. But, if Pete [Peter Jackson] says jump, I say, ‘How high?’ I mean, he started my whole career.”
The new Lord of the Rings films are set to begin in 2026 with The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis, who will also return as Gollum/Sméagol.
Original trilogy director Peter Jackson is on board to produce the new films alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The idea is for The Hunt for Gollum to kick off a fresh live-action Lord of the Rings series.
“I really don’t know what [they are planning],” Bloom continued.
“I did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things. I was like, ‘How would that even work?’
And he was like, ‘Well, AI!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’ It was a pretty magical time in my life, and it’s one of those things where there’s not a downside to it.”
While the new Lord of the Rings films are still in early development at Warner Bros., McKellen also shared his excitement, saying:
“I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him. When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”
Bloom reflected on his time in Middle-earth during a conversation with Variety at the Toronto Film Festival, where he was promoting his new boxing drama The Cut.
Directed by Sean Ellis and co-starring John Turturro and Caitríona Balfe, the film premiered on Sept. 5 at the festival.
