
The Hobbit star Martin Freeman has opened up on whether he would ever reprise his role as Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings franchise – hinting that he could be tempted, given the right circumstances.
Very soon, fans of the world created by JRR Tolkien will be transported back to a land brimming with hobbits, elves and power-hungry men when Amazon’s ‘most expensive series of all time’, The Rings of Power, arrives.
While viewers will be introduced to a spate of new characters – including Maxim Baldry as Isildur, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel and Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwy – there will also be a few familiar faces (albeit played by new actors), with Morfydd Clark starring as Galadriel and Robert Aramayo as Elrond.
So with that in mind, could Breeders and Sherlock star Martin ever see himself returning to the LOTR fold as Bilbo, having portrayed the adventurer in The Hobbit trilogy? Metro.co.uk put the question forward during a recent chat.
When asked for his initial thoughts concerning Rings of Power and if he would ever consider reprising his role, perhaps in a flash-forward scene, the 50-year-old responded: ‘I suppose not having seen the series, I can only wish it well and wish it luck. I suppose those stories are the kinds of things that are going to be told again and again, in the next – if we survive this long – over the next 300 years. It’s going to be told several more times, in different incarnations.
‘I wish them well, I hope it’s good, like I want everything to be good.’
He then added: ‘Whether I would do it again, it would really depend on who was doing it and why I suppose.’
Martin explained why he could have reservations, over concerns viewers might find it ‘jarring’ if it didn’t make sense for the story.
‘If it didn’t look conspicuous and if it wasn’t jarring, then maybe so, but anything that pulled the viewer out and [made them] go, “Well, that’s a different version,’ that might be a bit weird. But as with all those things, it depends on who the minds are behind it,’ he said.

The trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has excited fans across the globe, teasing a spectacle set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
There are plenty of details to pore over from the footage released so far, including an undeniable parallel between a mysterious character and Eminem.

However, in news that may have surprised dedicated Tolkienite, Peter Jackson – who directed the critically-acclaimed Lord of the Rings series – has claimed that he was offered the chance to be involved in the TV series, before being ghosted.
‘They asked me if I wanted to be involved — [writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I — and I said, “That’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script,”’ he recently told The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.
‘So they said, “As soon as we get the first couple scripts, we’ll send them to you.” And the scripts never showed up. That’s the last thing I heard, which is fine. No complaints at all.’
Nonetheless, in retrospect Peter doesn’t appear to mind, saying he’s looking forward to watching the show ‘as a perfectly neutral viewer’.
Lord of The Rings: Rings of Power premieres on September 2 on Amazon Prime Video.