Peter Jackson’s adaption of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released in theaters 16 years ago. Let’s all take a minute to reel from that, do some mental math, and quietly weep at the passage of time and our ultimate shucking of our mortal coils to leave this Earth. Then we should corner actor Elijah Wood and ask him what deal had to make to achieve elfin immortality because the man does not age.
The latest evidence? Fellow Lord of the Rings alumni Dominic Monaghan’s Instagram account. The whole gang — from left to right, Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Elijah Wood (Frodo), and Billy Boyd (Pippin) — reunited for what appears to be an Empire magazine shoot. As it has been sixteen years, the actors have aged a bit… except for Wood. Standing next to his former co-stars, it almost looks as if he’s absorbing their life energy to sustain himself.
If nothing else, there’s obviously a Dorian Gray-esque portrait in the dusty recesses of Elijah Wood’s attic, right?
BONUS: There are several other photos from the reunion on Monaghan’s page, but while searching through his feed I stumbled across this. Elijah Wood may never age, but that’s nothing compared to putting a giant scorpion on your face like it’s no big deal. Warning: This may squick you out. Monaghan swears they’re harmless, but let’s all get aboard to Nope Train to Never-Gonna-Happen-Ville.
(Via io9)