Viggo Mortensen: 'Aragorn unlikely to be in The Hobbit'

Viggo Mortensen has revealed that it is unlikely the character of Aragorn will appear in The Hobbit.

The actor played the role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy under the direction of Peter Jackson, but said that he has yet to be approached to appear in the director's two prequels.

"At one point, the producers asked if I would do it and I said sure, if Aragorn is supposed to be in the bridge story, because he's not in The Hobbit," he told Movies.com.

"But I've never been asked and they're shooting the movie. I'm not in it unless there is some last-minute plan they have, but I thought I would have heard of it by now."

Mortensen had previously said that he was "unsure" about returning to the JRR Tolkien film adaptation series.

His Lord of the Rings co-stars Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett will be reprising their respective roles.

He added: "Orlando Bloom and Cate Blanchett shot something, but they're elves and don't change as rapidly.

"As you know, Aragorn is half elf and also lives a couple hundred years or more and he could be in a bridge, but I have to assume it isn't going to happen."

The Hobbit will be divided into two parts and released as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on December 14, 2012, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13, 2013.

> The Hobbit trailer will debut in December, says Andy Serkis