Elijah Wood hopes new Lord of the Rings movies will be made 'with reverence' for source material

Elijah Wood hopes the new The Lord of the Rings movies are being made for the love of J. R. R. Tolkien's books rather the desire to "make a lot of money".

In February, Warner Bros. executives announced that the studio will be making "multiple" films based on the books by Tolkien, and Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the original trilogy, has admitted he was surprised by the news.

"I'm fascinated and I'm excited. I hope it's good. I'm surprised - I don't know why I'm surprised because, of course there would be more movies," he told GQ.

Wood hopes that the team aren't being motivated solely by money and has a passion for Tolkien's work, like director Peter Jackson did when he made his trilogy.

"Obviously at the core of that, is a desire to make a lot of money. It's not that a bunch of executives are like, 'Let's make really awesome art,'" Wood continued. "And, again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive.

"But Lord of the Rings didn't come out of that place. It came out of a passion for these books and wanting to see them realized. And I hope that that is ultimately what will drive everything forward with whatever these subsequent movies are. I just hope that it's the same motivating factor at its core, whenever they hire a screenwriter and a filmmaker - that it is with reverence for Tolkien's material and enthusiasm to explore it."

Wood had the starring role in Jackson's movies - 2001's The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002's The Two Towers, and 2003's The Return of the King.

No director has been attached to the new films yet, however, Jackson is being kept "in the loop" about their development.