Viggo Mortensen has weighed in with his opinion on the upcoming Amazon TV show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Mortensen, who currently stars in David Cronenberg’s new film Crimes of the Future, is in a unique position to comment, as his portrayal of Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is part of what made those films so beloved. His name is therefore irrevocably tied to the franchise and he has done appearances with the rest of the cast to celebrate the films, most notably on Josh Gad’s web series Reunited Apart. On the other hand, he has also spoken about how the shooting of the films, particularly The Two Towers and The Return of the King, was incredibly haphazard and described the ballooning CGI budget as a mess.
If anything was to be described as ballooning, however, it would be The Rings of Power, as the new Amazon show is reportedly the most expensive TV series ever made, costing almost $1 billion. Releasing this September, Rings of Power takes place in Middle-earth thousands of years before the Third Age of the Jackson films and stars Saint Maud’s Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, and Benjamin Walker. The show will juggle storylines, Dwarven politics, and eventually the forging of the nine rings of power, with familiar names like Isiildur (Baldry), Galadriel (Clark), and Gil-Galad (Walker) making an appearance.
Mortensen meanwhile, doesn’t seem to be aware of any of this. In his interview with THR at Cannes, upon being asked about the show, he simply responds “What is that?” and asks whether it will be “with Apple, or something," showing he knows of the show's existence but is not informed about much else. After the interviewer clarifies the streaming platform and describes its estimated cost, Mortensen seems enthused, explaining that he will watch it but questions the source material they are drawing from. Upon hearing of the show’s time frame, he is excited, describing it as “cool” and saying it’ll be “fun to see.” Check out his full thoughts below:
"What is that? The TV thing? It is with Apple, or something? [...] Oh, right. Yeah, I’ll watch that. But do you know what source material they’re using? [...] It’ll be fun to see."
For an actor who has distanced himself from bid budget pictures in the time since Lord of the Rings hit the big screen, Mortensen’s initial apathy towards the project is understandable, although his enthusiasm upon hearing about the show’s focus is also quite heart-warming. He was dedicated to his role upon being cast as Aragorn, making sure to read the books and carrying his sword around with him during production. Mortensen even bought Uraeus and Kenny, two horses he rode over the course of the production, so it is natural that he would be excited to delve back into Middle Earth.
It’ll be figures like Mortensen that Amazon will need to get on board if they want Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to work, as he is still highly regarded among the legions of fans the films have garnered. Winning fans over will be necessary, as the show is a massive gamble, even for a company as large as Amazon, and they will want to make the most out of a large following. For now, it looks as if they may be doing everything right, although the Lord of the Rings fans won’t get back to Middle Earth until this fall.
Source: THR