His Middle-earth alter-ego made many a triumphant return in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster Tolkien adaptations, and now Sir Ian McKellen has hinted that cinemagoers could once again “look to my coming at first light on the fifth day” as the legendary actor has suggested that he has been approached to play Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Earlier in the year McKellen had jokingly revealed that he would return to the role on one macabre condition; that he was still alive. Having tempted fate with a nasty fall on the West End stage, the Academy Award winning actor is back fighting fit and seemingly ready to wield the staff in some capacity for the Any Serkis-directed film.
The 85-year old actor was speaking with The Big Issue when he revealed that “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings shows no sign of abating … I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him.”
In what capacity that return might be was hinted at in further chats he has had whilst promoting his latest film The Critic. McKellen told Sky News that “Gandalf’s involved but I’m not yet told how much he’s going to be paid or how much he gets to say, so I think we’ll leave it there.”
McKellen played the pipe-weed smoking wizard in both series of films, earning himself a Best Supporting Actor nod for The Fellowship of the Ring, and with Jackson hinting that our duplicitous protagonist might cross paths with some familiar Tolkien characters, it lends weight to the rumours that the story will in part focus on Aragorn’s quest to track him down at the behest of Gandalf.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set for release by Warner Bros. in 2026. Meanwhile, the studio also has the animated feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim slated for release this December.
