Viggo Mortensen opened up about why he didn’t work in franchise movies after ‘Lord of the Rings’

Viggo Mortensen seems to be really selective when it comes to franchise movies.

In a Vanity Fair interview, Mortensen was questioned why he was never seen again in another Hollywood franchise movie after his role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s iconic Lord of the Rings trilogy between 2001 and 2003.

The Oscar nominee made clear that he has no issue with franchise movies, it’s just that he prefers movies that are well-written, at least enough to capture his attention.

“I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories,” Mortensen said.

“It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”

“That goes for franchises,” he added.

“If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it.”

He added, “I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”