Lord Of The Rings: Dominic Monaghan up for TV return

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Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry Brandybuck in the movie trilogy version of The Lord Of The Rings, has expressed an interest in returning to his iconic role for the in-development Lord Of The Rings TV series that Amazon Prime is cooking up.

Amazon paid millions for the rights to this project, which is rumoured to focus on the early years of Aragorn (who was played by Viggo Mortensen in the films). It hasn’t been officially confirmed which characters from the films will show up in the series, if any, but this hasn’t stopped the film cast from being asked at every opportunity.

Metro asked Monaghan if he would be game for a return, and the actor offered this response:

“It just depends how they do it, really. If they do the older hobbits sitting around reminiscing on their journeys, of course I’d do that. I love that world and I think introducing new generations to that world only brings them back to the Peter Jackson trilogy, and to the books.”

Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings films and The Hobbit, has also been asked if he’d be up for it. Prompted into a comment by CinemaBlend, Serkis said this:

“Oh boy, listen, I mean… I don’t think so. And if I was anyone making those, they’re obviously going to want to start fresh and create something brand new. And that’s how it should be. That’s what you do with great, classic pieces of work. Like [The Jungle Book]. It bears repetition, and it bears reinterpretation. And I think it needs a fresh pair of ears and eyes, and I’m sure that’s the way they’ll go.”

Graham Norton, meanwhile, asked Ian McKellen what he thought of another actor potentially playing Gandalf in the show. McKellen didn’t seem to like that suggestion:

“What do you mean, another Gandalf? […] I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? […] Gandalf is over 7000 years old, so I’m not too old.”

We’ll just have to wait and see, and keep an eye on the news, to find out whether any of these actors do reprise their roles in The Lord Of The Rings TV show. It’s certainly interesting that Monaghan and McKellen seem to be keen on the idea.