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It’s official – there’s a new Aragorn in town… Alasdair Stuart has all the updates.

Oh Elijah Wood, you wily trickster. A couple of weeks out from him seemingly confirmed Leo Woodall was the new Aragorn, we’ve now got confirmation he was both lying AND telling the truth.

CinemaCon is running at the moment, which is the trade show for the ‘theatrical exhibition industry’. Movies, in other words. There’s a lot of news coming out of it but one of the most revealing is the confirmation of The Hunt for Gollum’s cast. Directed by Andy Serkis and releasing next year, this first live action one-off LOTR movie has an interesting cast. Serkis is playing both Gollum and Sméagol as well as directing and is joined by Elijah Wood returning as Frodo and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

Then things get interesting. Lee Pace as Thranduil is an inspired choice and seems to speak to the theory that this movie is intended to bridge the two existing LOTR trilogies. A lot of people didn’t have much time for The Hobbit movies, but Pace was an undeniable highlight, and it’ll be great to have him back. Then there’s the new arrivals.  Kate Winslet has been cast as someone called Marigol and Leo Woodall as a character called Halvard. While this means the brief beautiful flame of Winslet as a gender-swapped Aragorn (never going to happen but oh if they’d had the COURAGE) dies, it also confirms that Woodall is both in the movie and not playing Aragorn. So, who is?

Jamie Dornan! Beloved in these parts for his excellent work in Belfast and an extraordinarily charming turn as one of SNL UK’s earliest hosts, the world’s premier potato rock collector (genuinely a thing) will be stepping into Viggo Mortensen’s shoes this time. Dornan’s a great choice, with similar physicality to Mortensen and very, very similar comic timing. Both men are quiet, intense, very funny when they need to be and command the room. As Aragorn should.

The Search for Gollum is filming now and will release in 2027. Dornan’s work in Belfast, his SNL UK episode and the staggering comic turn he has in Barb and Star go to Vista del Mar are all streaming now.