As Amazon continues work on its upcoming Lord of the Rings series, the streaming service also has one of its franchise stars appearing on another one of its original series. That's kind of crazy for Orlando Bloom, who admitted during a panel for the upcoming Carnival Row at the TCA summer press tour that he's eating crow he thought would never end up on his plate when he played Legolas long ago.
Specifically, Orlando Bloom can recall a conversation he had with the Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson about the possibility of a remake coming down the line. Jackson mentioned the possibility to Bloom, who said he never thought he'd see the day.
It’s funny, I remember being on set with [director] Peter [Jackson] 20 years ago now and he was saying, 'Wouldn’t it be funny to think about when they want to do a remake of Lord of the Rings?' We were in the midst of this remarkable shoot, and I was like, 'Never going to happen, never going to happen!' Here I am working for Amazon and they're re-doing it.
Orlando Bloom was wrong, but not entirely so. Technically, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series takes place in the Second Age of the canon. This material predates the Lord of the Rings films where audiences first saw Bloom as Legolas. Additionally, the idea of a Lord of the Rings live-action series still sounded unbelievable right up until its official confirmation by Amazon, so who can really give Bloom flak for getting this one wrong?
Of course, once the topic of Amazon's Lord of the Rings was broached, the press in attendance at the TCA Summer Carnival Row panel (via THR) wanted to know if there were talks to bring Bloom into the series as the Elven archer Legolas. Is it possible the archer will be rubbing shoulders with the new cast? Bloom laughed, and admitted that his days of playing the character may be done (though he'll probably always be down for reunions).
I don't know how they’re going to approach it. I haven't had any conversations about that... I like to think of myself as ageless but... [laughs] I don't know where I would fit in that world, really. If you're saying there's Legolas, they've probably got a 19-year-old kid who's ready to go.
Orlando Bloom says that, but let's not forget he reprised the role of Legolas back in 2013 and 2014 during The Hobbit trilogy. That was really only five years ago, so it isn't that crazy to think Amazon wouldn't be interested in bringing Bloom back for a smaller role or cameo, especially with him in another one of the Amazon originals. With that said, characters like Legolas and even Gandalf weren't alive during the Second Age, so Bloom's reprisal would be unlikely.
The Bizarre Way Amazon Is Hyping Its Lord Of The Rings Series
Though progress has been made towards making it a reality, production on the Lord of the Rings series isn't supposed to be starting until 2020. Stick with CinemaBlend in the meantime for updates on its progress, and for news on other shows and movies.
