The Lord of the Rings franchise had a good run, but who's to say that's the end? If anything, Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom is fascinated with potentially using AI to de-age the actors to reprise their roles in the next LOTR film.
Orlando Bloom Believes There Is "No Downside" to AI De-Aging Actors
Amid the return of The Rings of Power for a second season, the franchise is looking to create a new film titled The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum, with Ian McKellen recently confirming he will be reprising his role as Gandalf.
Now, Orlando Bloom, who played the Elven archer Legolas in the original trilogy and The Hobbit movies, has also said that he spoke with director Andy Serkis on how he could return for the character.
"Oh, man, those things are amazing. Yeah. I don't know how they'd do it. I guess with AI you can do anything these days," Bloom admitted when asked if he was planning on reprising Legolas.
He then later added, "But if [Peter Jackson] says jump, I say, 'How high?' I mean, he started my whole career."
"I really don't know what [they are planning]. I did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things," the 47-year-old actor recently explained, "I was like, 'How would that even work?' And he was like, 'Well, AI!' and I was like, 'Oh, OK!'"
Bloom also said, "It was a pretty magical time in my life, and it's one of those things where there's not a downside to it."
AI practice has always been frowned upon, especially with the de-aging of actors through its technology as seen in DC's The Flash and Disney's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
While it remains to be seen if the upcoming addition to the Lord of the Rings franchise does plan on pushing the same method, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is currently slated to release on January 1, 2026.
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