The Lord of the Rings franchise will be returning with new films in the near future, but Elrond star Hugo Weaving won’t be partaking. 2024 was an exciting year for Tolkien fans, with a new season of Prime Video’s The Rings of Power and an animated film, War of the Rohirrim. However, the biggest and most unexpected announcement was that members of the original cast would be returning for a feature film centered around Gollum. The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in 2026, with Andy Serkis directing and starring and Peter Jackson producing.

The return of Andy Serkis as Gollum implies that, unlike The Rings of Power, these new movies will be directly connected to the previous Lord of the Rings movies, especially in the era of shared universes. Ian McKellen is set to reprise his role as Gandalf, and questions have begun swirling around Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn, who’s also meant to be in the story. It would be strange to have some members of the original cast there and have other characters be played by new stars, but Hugo Weaving has explicitly stated he won’t be returning.

Hugo Weaving Isn’t Interested In Returning To LOTR Because He’s “Had Enough Of Middle-earth”

If Elrond Returns, He’ll Be Played By A New Actor

Actor Hugo Weaving is known for decades of terrific work in film and television, playing Elrond in The Lord of the Rings, Agent Smith in The Matrix, and Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it would surely be a sizable paycheck to return to Middle-earth, the 64-year-old actor has expressed on multiple occasions that he wouldn’t be coming back, leaving the upcoming movie without an Elrond. To Yahoo Entertainment, Weaving said, “I spent too long in Middle Earth and I don’t particularly want to go back there.“ He also said the following to GamesRadar+:

“Personally, I’ve had enough of that. It was great being in New Zealand on and off over a ten year period. 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.”

In the Yahoo interview, Weaving also added: “I spent so much time on that particular piece and it was a huge franchise, but for me it was not a role that has the same sort of stature in my head as it does for fans.” So, it’s clear that the actor has multiple reasons for not wanting to go back. While he’s appreciative of the time he spent working on the projects and what they meant to audiences, it’s fair that he’d want to spend future years in his career exploring new characters. It’s still important to note what this means for the movie and future installments.

Hugo Weaving Doesn’t Think A Lord Of The Rings Return Makes Sense For Elrond

De-Aging Characters May Make The Elves Feel Inauthentic

On top of his personal reasons, Hugo Weaving gave a fairly logical lore reason as to why he wouldn’t be interested in returning. In the same GamesRadar+ interview, he stated, “Elrond is meant to be immortal and I’m aging.” Weaving was over twenty-five years younger when he began filming for the character, who’s meant to have appeared the same for thousands of years. Elrond was born in the First Age, meaning he’s one of only a few characters who are, in The Silmarillion, prominent during the Second Age and present for the War of the Ring.

Even in regards to non-immortal characters like Aragorn, bringing back these same actors will be a challenge. The Irishman saw Robert De Niro and Al Pacino de-aged with CGI, and while this technology might have improved since then, it’s still incredibly expensive, and many viewers will find it off-putting. At a certain point, it might just be worth it to bring in new actors, even if it means taking a risk on an inexperienced cast like Peter Jackson did. Almost no one in his lineup was a movie star at the time.

The Lord Of The Rings Franchise Can Work Around Hugo Weaving’s Absence

Elrond Won’t Be Essential For Many Stories

The Hunt for Gollum’s story might require Rivendell, as it’s going to involve Gandalf meeting with Aragorn and sending him on a mission. However, avoiding the location would mean not having to include Elrond or Arwen, either. It’s hard to say what these new films will do at this point, but if Warner Bros. intends to build a franchise out of the title, having some actors return and others not isn’t going to work.

Most stories they want to tell won’t involve Elrond, but it’s important to wonder what happens when they want to use Saruman as another example of someone who can’t be brought back. Hugo Weaving can’t be expected to keep coming back, nor can other actors, and it might be better for The Lord of the Rings franchise to start its cast with a clean slate, building something new rather than relying on nostalgia to make the movies work.