Viggo Mortensen says he hasn’t returned to franchise films since The Lord of the Rings because they’re just “usually not this good”

Viggo Mortensen He has had a great career playing many memorable roles, but none as touching as his stint as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s film The Lord of the Rings franchising.

He has had many credits since then, but when asked why we haven’t seen him in more films in the franchise, Mortensen explained: Vanity Fair that what he looks for in the film roles he accepts are an interesting story and well-written scripts.

However, he admitted that franchise films “aren’t usually that good.” He said, “I don’t look for or avoid any genre or budget of any size. I just look for interesting stories.

“I don’t care what genre it is, what the budget is, or who makes it. I would never make a film just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”

He continued: “That goes for franchises. If someone came to me with Movie X, Part 3, or Part 9, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play it and I thought I had something to contribute, I would do it.

“I’m not against it. But they’re usually not that good. I mean, for me, they’re usually not that well written. They’re a little predictable. I mean, obviously there’s always the problem of me running out of money.”

Although Mortensen is best known for his role in Lord of the Rings trilogy, he said The Hollywood Reporter Last month he said he was unsure whether he would reprise the role in Jackson’s new film, due out in 2026.

“I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know,” Mortensen said of the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. “The script is the most important thing to me, unless I’m broke and have no money and am lucky to get a job. So it depends.”

I think it would be really cool to see him back in the role, but we’ll just have to wait and see how it all turns out.