Jamie Dornan is the new Aragorn

Taking over the role of Strider from Viggo Mortensen, Barb And Star Go Vista Del Mar's Jamie Dornan will lead The Hunt For Gollum.

By Matt Schimkowitz | April 14, 2026 | 9:19pm

Screenshot: YouTube

News News The Lord of the Rings

After a long day of tending to his Animal Farm, Andy Serkis has found his Aragorn. Per The Wrap, during the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon today, the studio announced that Jamie Dornan will play Aragorn in The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. Dornan is stepping in for Viggo Mortensen, who starred as Strider in the first three Lord Of The Rings films. Despite Aragorn being a half-Elven octogenarian, Mortensen probably wasn’t going to return for the prequel unless there were some incredible advancements in de-aging technology. However, it’s not bad casting. After all, everyone who has seen Dornan’s star turn in Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar has the same response: That guy would make a great Aragorn.

But that wasn’t the only Lord Of The Rings news made at CinemaCon. It was announced that Kate Winslet will play Marigol, the Matriarch of the Stoors, in the film. The Stoors are a breed of hobbit that don’t get much play in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings, except for one crucial chapter, “Shadow Of The Past.” Sméagol and his late-cousin Deagol, we learn in the chapter, were Stoors. We also hear of Sméagol’s grandmother. (Smart money says that’s probably who Winslet is playing.)

Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum opens December 17, 2027.

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