A truly great post from tor.com: The King That Might Have Returned

Here’s a must-read post at tor.com, that talks about the other actors that Jackson considered for the part of Aragorn.

Indispensable from this post: the commentary of the writer, Emily Asher-Perrin:

Nicolas Cage is never anyone but Nicolas Cage. We all know this. He has an irrefutable Cage-ness. He’s great at extremes because that is clearly where he lives. His vocal delivery does not conform to other languages or accents—they must bend around him. He would have never blended in with the ensemble cast that Jackson ended up assembling. Suddenly, the king’s return would seem like the entire point of the LOTR trilogy. Frodo? Who’s that? What’s this Ring thing about?

All I can see is Cage.

It would have been the most distracting casting choice of the 21st century, and the 21st century had only just begun.

You really must click through to read the rest, admire the pictures, and consider the alternate-history LotR movies that might have existed.