With Warner Bros. developing multiple film Middle-earth projects set in The Lord of the Rings cinematic universe created by Peter Jackson, there are opportunities for a lot of familiar characters to show up again.
We know there are plans to bring Ian McKellan’s Gandalf back and other potential characters include Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, and maybe even John Rhys-Davies as Gimli.
Davis was not a fan of the makeup process he has to go through in the original Lord of the Rings film. It was so bad for him that he did not return for The Hobbit films because he didn’t want to deal with spending all day being plastered with makeup and prosthetics.
If you didn’t know, that process led to an allergic reaction and left the actor feeling physically ill. So, if Rhys-Davies was asked to come back, he said he would do it, but he had one condition…. no makeup.
He explained to Collider: “If they invited me … oh god, could I dare to put on that make-up again and lose my skin? Maybe with CGI. […] Times have moved on and technology has moved on, if I don’t have to spend eight hours a day for three years of my life in a make-up chair, I might indeed do it.”
Davies went on to say that costumes are also an issue and said: “The other thing is physically I am no longer capable of putting 80 pounds of extra armor and stuff on and climbing up mountains.”
We have no idea if there are any plans to bring Gimli back, but the first movie to be released is The Hunt For Gollum, which is being directed by Andy Serkis. Other than that, we don’t know what other projects are planned.
However, with The Hunt For Goillum taking place between the end of the The Hobbit trilogy and The Fellowship of the Ring, Gilmi is running around in that universe and could be included if the creative team did want him in the story.
Gollum did visit the Lonely Mountain at one point on his journey so that would be the place to work Gimli into the story.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is slated to arrive in 2026.
