In light of the release of new films, Hugo Weaving, the actor of Elrond in the Peter Jackson films, recently discussed his own departure from Middle-earth, by announcing that he is no longer doing any Middle-earth films.
As he spoke to Games Radar, he said, “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 go Middle-earth I don’t imagine anyone would ask me to do it again.” (Park Place, Games Radar)
Thus he announced his departure from Middle-earth and sailed west. While this seems to just be found a month ago, the reality is that Weaving has been saying this since 2020. the influx of articles about Weaving’s role could just be a copy and paste in light of new Middle-earth movies, such as the Hunt for Gollum, coming out.
Peter Jackson’s LOTR
In the Radio Times, he described the role of Elrond as that it was made “in a funny way, not a role that I think of with the same sort of stature in my head as it might do for fans” (The Guardian).
Hugo has also expressed that he would be too old to play Elrond due to the elves’ immortality. However, despite this sentiment, the Elves also age, though they do age in a different timeframe than mortals and it would also depend on time period in which the new movies would be set.
Rings of Power + interest in Middle-earth
A huge component of his departure seems to be centered on the Rings of Power. While he noted that he didn’t take interest of the younger version of him, it is likely that it’s due to one of two things – the drama surrounding the airing of the show and the result of the show itself. Hugo did wish the actor, Robert Aramayo, well before the show started, but it was revealed in August of 2024 that Hugo Weaving did not watch the Rings of Power for good reasons.
(No issues – I didn’t watch it either. )
With an influx of rage and division and polarizing views, spread across both seasons, – not necessarily that people had different opinions but moreso the perceived division as a result – it’s no wonder that Weaving would lose interest in Middle-earth adaptations. It’s hard to tell whether he would have enjoyed the series or not. This would also depend on his knowledge and interest in Middle-earth.
Thus it could just be due to a lack of interest in Middle-earth as a whole. However, he did enjoy being on set during his time in Middle-earth in Peter Jackson’s films.
This means that it could also not be a lack of interest, but rather that he didn’t enjoy being around Middle-earth after 6 movies in it. He also showed more interest in other movies and other types of movies. With LOTR being released from 2001-2004, and the Hobbit movies being released from 2012-2015, he might’ve just simply decided to turn to other studios and other movies.
