Los Angeles, March 10 : Hollywood actor Elijah Wood is playing it smart with regards to his potential return as Frodo in the upcoming Andy Serkis-directed feature â??The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollumâ??.

The actor has neither confirmed nor denied the status of his potential return but the longtime actor said he wouldnâ??t want anyone else to take up the mantle as long as he is â??alive and ableâ?? to play the role, reports â??Deadlineâ??.

The actor acknowledged co-star Ian McKellen teasing details about the forthcoming movie to fans at a convention last year.

He told The Times U.K., â??It hasnâ??t been officially announced, but at a convention last August, Ian sort of let the cat out of the bag. So there is a good chance. Iâ??m not able to officially say anything until itâ??s announced, but I will say Iâ??m thrilled with the prospect of another filmâ??.

He further mentioned, â??Itâ??s always a little nerve-racking when people talk about new movies for a world like Middle-earth. Everyone gets a little protective and hopes it retains its level of integrity, but this story is fun, thrilling. There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back togetherâ??.

As per â??Deadlineâ??, the film is set for release in late 2027, and tells the story of what happened between the end of â??The Hobbitâ?? prequel trilogy and the beginning of â??The Lord of the Ringsâ??.

When told about Ian McKellenâ??s statement about him not allowing anyone else to play Gandalf, Elijah said, â??Well, no, and I totally get that. I certainly wouldnâ??t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as Iâ??m alive and able. And I can also recognize what fun that is going to be, when you are in the cinema and you see the hat turn around and itâ??s Gandalf. Because Iâ??m also a fan, and excited to see how it all comes togetherâ??.

Beginning in 2001 with the release of â??The Fellowship of the Ringâ??, the first film of the Peter Jackson-helmed trilogy catapulted Wood to a new stratosphere of stardom as he took on the lead role of Frodo, the protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkienâ??s books who is charged with a noble quest to save Middle-earth.

/IANS