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Craig Jones

Emmerdale's Michael Wildman bags Lord of The Rings film role after soap exit

Former Emmerdale star Michael Wildman has bagged a role in a major new Lord of The Rings film following his soap exit.

As Emmerdale fans know, character Al Chapman, played by Michael Wildman, 52, was killed off in shocking scenes which aired earlier this month. He was gunned down by Cain Dingle’s young son Kyle.

However, in a shock twist, viewers have seen Cain take the blame for the crime. Michael had been an Emmerdale since joining the cast back in 2019.

Read more: All the dates Emmerdale will be disrupted by the World Cup

Before joining the ITV soap, Michael had roles in big movies Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, Ready Player One and The Bourne Ultimatum. The star will have a role in another flick as he joins the Lord of The Rings franchise.

Michael is part of the cast of series prequel The Lord of The Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The untold story behind Helm's Deep, hundreds of years before the fateful war, will tell the life and times of Helm Hammerhand - the King of Rohan.

Other members of the animation’s cast include Succession’s Brian Cox as well as Miranda Otto, Luke Pasqualino, Shaun Dooley and Janine Duvitski. The new film is due for release in 2023 and we'll bring you more about it when we have further details.

You can see a tweet announcing his casting below

Michael has discussed his Emmerdale time and conceded his character had run its course. He explained: “Over the past year, I felt things were coming to a head. So, when the executive producer rang to say ‘we are thinking of letting Al go’ I told her ‘I’m with you - so long as Al doesn’t leave in a taxi’. I wanted Al to go out with a bang and he definitely did.”

You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.

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