Anya Taylor-Joy was an avid Harry Potter fan as a child, and now that she’s been cast in The Lord of the Rings, she’s ready to dive into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.
“I’m actually trying to read a book right now,” Taylor-Joy told Variety’s Marc Malkin at Monday night’s Apple TV “Lucky” premiere. “So when I was a kid, I had this mistaken idea that you could only be a Harry Potter fan or a Lord of the Rings fan. No one told me that. I just came up with it on my own. Luckily, during the pandemic and then I watched all of The Lord of the Rings, and I realized that you can and should like both.”
When asked about her first reaction when she was cast in “The Hunt for Gollum,” Taylor-Joy said, “It’s so much fun. I mean, if my tombstone says ‘Lethal Elf,’ I feel like I’ve done a good job on this earth. So I’m really excited.”
In June, it was revealed that Taylor-Joy was joining The Hunt for Gollum as Seren, a Sindarin elf from the Forest Kingdom who is said to be “King Thranduil’s trusted and deadly agent.” She joins fellow “LOTR” newcomers Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall and Jamie Dornan. Dornan will take over the role of Aragorn from Viggo Mortensen.
Directed by Andy Serkis, who also reprises his role as Gollum, the film follows Aragorn’s search for the creature obsessed with the Ring between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo), and Lee Pace (King Thranduil) are also expected to continue their roles.
Despite replacing Dornan, Serkis recently told the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast that Mortensen is “excited” about the direction the film is taking.
“I really, really don’t want to get into that right now because I want to save that for the future,” Serkis said. “I’ll spare you all the casting discussion. Other than that, we’re thrilled that Jamie is doing it. I mean, we’re, you know, really excited. And so is Viggo, by the way.”
