Orlando Bloom says he’s open to stepping back into one of his most famous roles, though nothing is confirmed just yet.
The 48-year-old actor spoke on the Today Show on Friday, Sept. 5, about the possibility of returning to the Lord of the Rings universe as elf Legolas in the upcoming film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis.
“I have not heard a peep, actually,” Bloom said when asked about being approached. “I don’t know. I know it’s focusing on Gollum, so anything’s possible.”
Bloom reflected on his time playing Legolas in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy and later in two of The Hobbit prequels.
“It’s such an amazing part,” he said. “I’m so grateful to have been a part of those movies. But I haven’t heard.”
The actor added with a laugh, “Listen, I’d hate to see anyone else play Legolas, you know what I mean? What are they going to do? Are they going to put somebody else in as Legolas?” He then joked, “With A.I. they can do anything these days!”
While artificial intelligence may be changing Hollywood, Bloom made clear his latest project had nothing to do with it.
His role in The Cut, where he plays a boxer consumed by weight loss, required a very real physical and mental transformation. “I didn’t do that in The Cut, by the way,” he noted.
The Cut, which also stars Caitríona Balfe and John Turturro, premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical release.
Bloom told PEOPLE the challenge was unlike anything he had faced before.
“What I hadn’t expected and was surprised by was the mental toll that this kind of intense discipline takes,” he explained. “The paranoia and anxiety were very real and disturbing, caused by the lack of sleep, turns out you can’t sleep when you’re hungry!”
Following The Cut and this year’s Deep Cover, Bloom is set to appear in two more films, Bucking Fastard and Wizards!, continuing a busy slate of projects while keeping the door open for a possible return to Middle-earth.