Hugo Weaving first portrayed Elrond, the half-elven Lord of Rivendell, in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films and reprised the role for The Hobbit trilogy that followed. However, Weaving confirmed he has no interest in returning to the character for future Lord of the Rings projects.
In 2017, Amazon acquired global television rights to The Lord of The Rings and announced plans to produce a series set before the events of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The 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 the Lord of the Rings series will be helmed by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J. a. Bayona, who also serves as an executive producer on along with his producing partner Belén Atienza.
While the cast of the Lord of the Rings series 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 he might have reprised his role as Agent Smith in The Matrix 4 had there not been scheduling issues, he believes his time with the Lord of the Rings franchise is over. “Matrix might have happened. But Lord 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 on Lord of the Rings, including Captain America: The First Avenger and the Transformers films 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 future Lord of the Rings projects may come as a relief, even to fans of his performance as Elrond. After The Hobbit trilogy failed 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 Rings series is expected to debut on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
Source: Variety
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