Viggo Mortensen won't play Aragorn in 'The Hobbit' films: 'I would have heard by now'

This may be disappointing news to some "Lord of the Rings" fans, but it seems we've seen the last of Aragorn. Viggo Mortensen tells Movies.com that he will likely not be reprising his role in Peter Jackson's upcoming prequels based on "The Hobbit."

Still, Mortensen says he would have liked to participate, and Jackson even approached him about possibly appearing in the first installment, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." It simply didn't pan out that way.

"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," he says. "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."

Cast members you can expect to return for the prequels include Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, and Orlando Bloom.