Actor Hugo Weaving has been a part of many iconic films, from The Lord of the Rings, to The Matrix, and V for Vendetta. Now that Amazon is developing a new take on The Lord of the Rings, fans want to see Weaving reprise his role as Elrond in the upcoming series. But in an interview with Variety, Weaving was adamant that he had no desire to return to Middle Earth.

"No way. Absolutely no. Matrix might have happened. But Lord of the Rings no, I would never - I'm not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it."

The Australian actor played the role of the half-elven king Elrond in Peter Jackson's original The Lord of the Rings trilogy and then reprised the role in the spinoff Hobbit movies. It seems those experiences were enough for Hugo Weaving.

Interestingly, Elrond was one of the few characters from The Lord of the Rings who could have easily fit into the Amazon series, which takes place much before the events of Jackson's movies. The upcoming show will recount the events that led to Sauron's first rise to power, and his subsequent vanquishing at the hands of Isildur.

Back then there was no Frodo or Bilbo Baggins, no Aragorn or even Gandalf. But since eleven folk are incredibly long-lived, Elrond was alive even then, along with Galadriel. If Amazon wants fans to associate their show with the immensely popular Peter Jackson trilogy, it would make sense to cast Elrond and Galadriel as the same actors as from the movies. But now it seems Weaving at least will not be returning as Elrond.

Most recently, audiences missed out on seeing Weaving in The Matrix 4 after the actor revealed he had been in talks to return as Agent Smith before scheduling conflicts got in the way. But that does not mean the actor is done with tentpole films in general. He just has a different set of expectations from such roles.

"They have to be something really interesting, with a different twist to make me really keen to do it. I'm not saying 'no' [to franchise films] because I'm sort of open to anything, But I suppose my interests have always lay with [Australia] and trying to find really interesting projects out here. That's my primary focus."

It will be a pity if Weaving is never seen again in big-budget films. The actor always managed to bring a unique intensity to the daffiest of concepts, elevating the scenes he acted in through sheer force of personality, and making audiences believe he really is a virus from The Matrix, or a red-skulled Nazi fighting Captain America, or the deputy lord mayor of a city on wheels that eats other cities that are also on wheels in Mortal Engines. This news comes from Variety.