Orlando Bloom eyes Lord of the Rings return

Orlando Bloom wants to return to ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

The 48-year-old actor portrayed the elf Legolas from 2001’s ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ until ‘The Return of the King’ in 2003 - and then again in ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy - and has now teased he would want to reprise the role if series director Peter Jackson ever asked him to.

Speaking on a panel at AwesomeCon, Bloom said: "I always think that if Pete says, ‘Jump’, I say, ‘How high?’

"It's funny because I think the elves go through so much of this world so many times because they're ageless. I was in ‘The Hobbit’, and it was really interesting revisiting the world. It was so different from ‘Rings’ as an experience.

"It was a beautiful time, but this idea of kind of going back is like ... ‘Absolutely, who wouldn't want to go back to that place?’"

Even so, the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star insisted it would be "impossible to recreate" the "magic" of the original ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy - which adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epics - in a new project, but added he would "always embrace" Legolas.

He said: "But, of course, the magic of that moment is not something that could ever be repeated.

"The time, the age, the place that we were at; the place that the universe, the world, the planet was at, is impossible to recreate.

"But I think the idea of playing these characters? Being in that headspace of Legolas is awesome. My ADHD is gone; I am focused. And that's something that I would always embrace because it's this crazy, meditative state of being all-knowing and all-seeing, which is such a cool feeling."

Meanwhile, Bloom’s co-star Sean Astin - who portrayed the brave hobbit Samwise Gamgee in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy - cast doubt on a potential return to the franchise, as he wasn’t sure if he could stay "centre and present and focused" on any such project due to the high expectations from fans.

He explained: "The idea of doing Sam again... When we did it the first time, I had no idea what the relationship of the literature was to that character. To me, it was all about what we were doing and trying to understand the ideas; just connecting on an emotional level.

"Now, after 25 years of having people come and talk about what it meant and how it helped in their life, how they got past a hard time and it brought their family together, and all of the millions of things that get said?

"I wonder what that would be like to try and go into a performance where you're supposed to be centered and present and focused on what you're doing, with that kind of [pressure]. I don't know what that would be like."

While Bloom and Astin’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ future is uncertain, Gollum actor Andy Serkis is to return in the upcoming spin-off movie ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum’, which he will also be directing.

‘The Hunt For Gollum’ will also see Peter Jackson return to the series as producer and Arragorn actor Viggo Mortensen may also reprise his hero in the movie.

Writer Philippa Boyens told The Playlist: "'The Hunt for Gollum’ is set during ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ era, shortly before Frodo Baggins leaves the Shire for Rivendell.

"And it begins with Gandalf sending Aragorn on a quest to find Gollum, who the wizard fears may reveal information about the One Ring to Sauron, so Viggo Mortensen’s appearance is crucial.

"But will he return? Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo, collaboratively and we are at a very early stage.

"I’ve spoken to Viggo, Andy has spoken to him, Peter has spoken to him, we’ve all spoken to each other and honestly, I cannot imagine anyone else playing Aragorn, but it will be completely and entirely up to Viggo."