John Noble Opts Out Of ‘The Hobbit’

Published by Jennifer Vineyard

Sure, Guillermo del Toro might want a lot of the original “Lord of the Rings” cast back for “The Hobbit” — but it doesn’t mean he’ll get them all. At least one Steward of Gondor says he hasn’t been asked.

“They haven’t consulted me,” said John Noble, who played Denethor. “I know Ian McKellan is coming back, and Andy Serkis will be — he’s very much associated with it, and he’s a terrific artist. Ian [Holm] is not a young man, so I don’t know what they’ll do with that. But I don’t think they’ll have Denethor back.”

The Denethor character — Faramir and Boromir’s father — doesn’t appear in the book version of “The Hobbit”, but del Toro plans to make a second, connective film that would take place between “The Hobbit” and “Fellowship of the Ring.” And if the character of Arargorn returns for that — Viggo, we’re looking at you — then there’s room for what happened to Gondor.

After all, before Denethor was the ruling Steward, his father Echelion had the throne (again, a possible place for Noble). Despite being the heir to the throne, Aragorn served under him, although in disguise. One of Aragorn’s battles for Echelion included routing the Corsairs of Umbar and burning their fleet. (You see what’s left of them whom he finally finishes them off in “Return of the King” when he has the help of the army of the dead.)

But if we’re going to see any of those battles of Gondor that gave Aragorn the experience he needed for the War of the Ring — one of the “treasure trove of possibilities” del Toro hints at? — it won’t be with Noble’s involvement. Not just because he hasn’t been asked, but also because he’s no longer available.

“If they said, ‘Would you come and play Denethor again,’” Noble said, “I would have to say, ‘No, I’m doing [new J.J. Abrams television series] ‘Fringe’! And I certainly couldn’t play a younger Denethor or even Echelion now that I’m an older John. Not even with makeup.”

“I do wish them the best of luck, however,” he added. “There’s tremendous fan interest in ‘The Hobbit.’ But ‘Lord of the Rings’ was so special, you could tell even when you were working on it, that it was just so good, and sometimes, you just want to leave that in a special place somehow.”

Would you want to see Aragorn get some battle scars in the second “Hobbit”? What sort of connective tissue do you think needs to be in that film?

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