Elijah Wood is 'surprised' but hopeful about new LOTR movies: 'Great art can come from commerce'

Uncertainty still clouds the new Lord of the Rings movies that Warner Bros. and Embracer Group announced earlier this year. Will they tell a new story set in Middle-earth like Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Or will they try and bring a new perspective to J.R.R. Tolkien's original tale, like the studio plans to do with its upcoming Harry Potter series? We'll likely find out soon, and Elijah Wood is cautiously optimistic.

The actor, who played Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy, shared an even-handed assessment of the franchise's inevitable return in an interview with GQ.

"I'm fascinated and I'm excited. I hope it's good," Wood told GQ. "I'm surprised — I don't know why I'm surprised because, of course there would be more movies."

Pierre Vinet/New Line Elijah Wood in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has been clear about his desire to produce new content based on beloved franchises owned by the studio, including Harry Potter and LOTR.

"Obviously at the core of that is a desire to make a lot of money. It's not that a bunch of executives are like, 'Let's make really awesome art,'" Wood said. "And, again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive."

He continued, "But [Jackson's] Lord of the Rings didn't come out of that place. It came out of a passion for these books and wanting to see them realized. And I hope that that is ultimately what will drive everything forward with whatever these subsequent movies are. I just hope that it's the same motivating factor at its core, whenever they hire a screenwriter and a filmmaker — that it is with reverence for Tolkien's material and enthusiasm to explore it."

The original screenwriters and filmmakers behind Wood's LOTR films — Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens — said in a statement right after the announcement that "Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us in the loop every step of the way" and "we look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward."

That leaves open the possibility that these new films could feature creative input from the team behind the original films. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum alongside Wood's Frodo, said in a subsequent interview that he would "jump at the chance" to work on new Middle-earth projects if Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens are involved.

Read Wood's full interview at GQ.

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