Orlando Bloom Will Return to 'Lord of the Rings' With One Condition

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With "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" on the way, the question of who may or may not return to reprise their roles from Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations is heating up.
Orlando Bloom, who played the elf Legolas in five of Jackson's films, says he would definitely reprise the role with one potentially controversial condition: AI would need to aid his performance.
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Speaking to MovieWeb, Bloom said, "I think first of all, I'd like to see [Legolas] the same age as he was [in the original trilogy]. So, AI would have to come into play. I think I'd like to see him lithe and breezy and warrior-like so AI would have to come into play.
"And I think if they asked me, I would say, 'Absolutely!' It would be so fun just to go back to New Zealand and spend however long they want me there for. Because honestly, if you want to be anywhere in the world right now, New Zealand is the place."
Orlando Bloom as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Orlando Bloom as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Warner Bros
De-aging would, of course, be nothing new to the Tolkien adaptations; Bloom was digitally de-aged for his role in "The Hobbit" films.
Bloom's willingness to return to the role of Legolas isn't surprising. Back in April, the "Deep Cover" star answered questions about playing Legolas again with, "I always think that if [Peter Jackson] says 'Jump,' I say, 'How high?'"
At the time, he acknowledged that "the magic of the moment" of making the original trilogy could never be repeated, but said he still cherished the idea of playing Legolas.
"Being in that headspace of Legolas is awesome," Bloom said. "My ADHD is gone; I am focused. And that's something that I would always embrace because it's this crazy, meditative state of being all-knowing and all-seeing, which is such a cool feeling."
"The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" is set to release Dec. 17, 2027, and director/star Andy Serkis recently revealed that filming would begin sometime between the beginning and middle of 2026. So, whether Bloom or anyone else from the previous films will reprise their roles, we could be hearing about it relatively soon.
Should he play Legolas again, the elf archer may not be the only beloved film role Bloom reprises. He recently hinted that another "Pirates of the Caribbean" film could be in the works, and even went so far as to say, "it'd be great to get the band back together."
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