John Noble’s Denethor Not In ‘The Hobbit’

Guillermo del Toro has stated quite categorically that he wants as many of the stars from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy back for The Hobbit. But even del Toro can’t always get what he wants, and he has had his first let-down.

Okay, it’s unlikely to be that much of a let-down when the actor in question hasn’t even been asked to come back for the new two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, but John Noble, who played Denethor in The Lord Of The Rings would say no even if asked, and that’s disappointing.

Noble told MTV Movies:

“They haven’t consulted me. 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.”

“If they said, ‘Would you come and play Denethor again, 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. 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.”

It takes some balls to say no to a part in a movie that is sure to be huge when it finally arrives. But I wouldn’t expect to see Denethor back in The Hobbit anyway, and Noble probably suspects the same and is hedging his bets.

The character doesn’t appear in the book version of The Hobbit, but could make an appearance in the second film that is being made as a kind of wrap-up of the period between The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. If del Toro does decide to put him in, then someone other than Noble will have to play him.