Orlando Bloom discusses upcoming 'Hobbit' finale 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'

'It's sad to say goodbye in many, many ways,' Orlando Bloom said of what is billed as the final movie in the 'Hobbit' trilogy being released. Orlando Bloom starred as the elf Legolas in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and reprises his role in two of the 'Hobbit' films.

Actor Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as elf archer Legolas in the upcoming film “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” which was recently the subject of a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego.

“Hobbit” is due to be released this December and is slated as the finale of the trilogy directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the novel “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“Armies” marks the fifth movie in which Bloom portrays the character, with the actor having first returned for the role in the second “Hobbit” movie “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” 

In an interview with Fandango, MTV News, and the Associated Press, among others, Bloom discussed what it was like to go back to playing Legolas and how he felt about "Armies" possibly being his last appearance as the elf.

“I feel weird,” he said. “We were just talking today – Peter [Jackson]’s youngest has just turned 18. She was three when I arrived in New Zealand… it’s sad to say goodbye in many, many ways. I felt very lucky to be back to do it… I felt like I got a chance to create a backstory… I think this movie will tie up beautifully the characters’ stories into a nice little bow so that you’ll be able to then go straight in and watch ‘Lord of the Rings.’” 

In an interview with the website Collider, Bloom also discussed the relationship between Legolas and his father, Thranduil, who is the king of the Woodland elves, which is first seen in "Smaug."

“Thranduil... is a very powerful and strong character who is very particular in his vision of who the Elves are, who the Woodland Elves are, specifically,” he said. “They are kind of… a militant group, the Woodland Realm Elves. So I think that the opportunity that Pete and Philippa [Boyens] and Fran [Walsh] and the writers... saw was to create… I think there was a desire for Legolas to come back. They felt that the fans would appreciate seeing Legolas in the Woodland Realm, and there was an opportunity to create a father-son, a prince versus king dynamic that would be interesting and serve the story.”

“Armies” will be released on Dec. 17.