New Lord Of The Rings Movie's Legolas Replacement Can Fix A Peter Jackson Mistake After 14 Years

Published Sep 16, 2026, 8:45 PM EDT

Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero. 

With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.

Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

Although Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, his return to Middle-earth with The Hobbit movies was somewhat rougher. This was largely due to the decision to take the single children's book from J.R.R. Tolkien and turn it into a full trilogy of films, requiring a fair amount of narrative padding. As such, not every new element was well-received, particularly when it came to a key character tied to Orlando Bloom's Legolas and his expanded role.

By all accounts, one of The Hobbit trilogy's most interesting newcomers was actress Evangeline Lily, who played the elven warrior Tauriel. That said, the overall execution of her character left much to be desired, exciting as introducing another female character to the franchise was.

Now, the upcoming Hunt for Gollum movie has the opportunity to succeed where The Hobbit movies failed, seeing as how it will reportedly have its own brand-new elven warrior who may very well serve as a replacement for Orlando Bloom's Legolas (who has yet to be confirmed for the new Lord of the Rings movie).

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Why The Hobbit Adding Tauriel Didn't Work

Appearing in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies, Evangeline Lily's Tauriel was captain of the Elven guard in Mirkwood. Although Legolas had feelings for her, it was established that his father, King Thranduil, would never allow Legolas to pledge himself to someone of such low status.

Despite being a capable warrior, Tauriel's arc in The Hobbit movies was largely dominated by a surprise romance with the Dwarf Kili, a member of Thorin's company. Tauriel and Kili fell in love over the course of just a few days, despite established tensions between Elves and Dwarfs in Middle-earth. While Legolas and Gimli's friendship in The Lord of the Rings trilogy proves that animosity isn't insurmountable, their bond as friends and allies was forged over the course of several months.

Combined with the fact that Tauriel and Kili's relationship wasn't part of Tolkien's original story, it all feels incredibly shoehorned and very inorganic, making Tauriel's status as a brand-new character more controversial than it could have been. While Peter Jackson wasn't wrong to introduce new characters and greater representation, the execution was fairly challenging, as her presence in the story was never fully justified/earned in an adaptation that already felt overstuffed elsewhere.

Anya Taylor-Joy's Elf Can Work Much Better In The Hunt For Gollum

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Fast-forwarding over a decade later, The Hunt for Gollum has a few key advantages over The Hobbit movies. Not only is the upcoming film telling a more ambiguous and largely untold adventure, but it's also a single movie. As such, there's arguably more room for original characters and for them to be given solid, meaningful arcs that don't feel needlessly stretched out.

Set during the 17-year gap between Bilbo's birthday and Frodo leaving the Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring, Hunt for Gollum will dive into the previously off-screen adventures of Gandalf and Aragorn as they search for Gollum to learn more about the One Ring. This will include Gollum's encounters with the Elves of Mirkwood, as they had the creature in their custody before he escaped to pursue the Fellowship of the Ring.

Keeping that in mind, Lee Pace is set to reprise his role as King Thranduil, while Orlando Bloom has not yet been confirmed to return as Legolas for The Hunt for Gollum. However, Anya-Taylor-Joy has been cast as an original Elven warrior named Seren, described as one of Thranduil's most trusted and lethal agents. As such, the foundation sounds very similar to Tauriel.

Hopefully, Seren will help expand the narrative in ways that feel much more organic and meaningful to the overall story. It'd be disappointing if she just introduces a non-compelling subplot that ultimately competes with everything else going on (like Tauriel's story unfortunately did). Whether she ends up being a replacement-type character for Legolas or a counterpart to the franchise's most popular Elf, it's going to be very exciting to see what kind of role Seren will have in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie. Fingers are crossed that it will feel more earned.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum releases in theaters on December 17th, 2027.