In news that will excite Lord of the Rings fans, Sir Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf in a forthcoming film – but for the actor himself, the timing is “unfortunate”.
The British actor, 86, who played the wizard in Peter Jackson’s original trilogy, as well as The Hobbit films, will reprise the role in The Hunt for Gollum, an instalment centring on the cunning Middle Earth character played by Andy Serkis.
Serkis is directing and starring in the film, and while it was known Gandalf would be in it, it wasn’t certain whether McKellen would be playing him. However, the actor confirmed his return during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The two-time Oscar nominee did admit he was a bit concerned about the timing of the film’s shoot, which starts this July in New Zealand.
“It’s unfortunate, because it’s winter down there and I’m not sure I want to be out there in the wind and the rain,” he told the US late-night host.
Teasing his return as Gandalf, McKellen said: “Yes, I put on the pointy hat and the beard and the nose and the eyebrows and the moustache.”
The film will also mark the comeback of Lord of the Rings protagonist Frodo Baggins, but Elijah Wood has yet to confirm his appearance.
He acknowledged that the project will reunite the creative team behind the original trilogy, including Serkis and producer Philippa Boyens.
“It’s very much that core original group getting back together to tell this story that will feel like a really fun exploration of this character that we all love so much,” he said ScreenRant last month.
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“It feels so unbelievably appropriate that Andy directs a film about his character that he has really made his own. I’m thrilled. It’ll be great. And I’m excited to see. I know their intention is to make other films in this universe.”
McKellen previously said his return to the Lord of the Rings franchise depended on whether “the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working”.
The actor, who sustained wrist and neck injuries in a dramatic fall while performing onstage in June 2024, told BBC Radio 4: “I’m not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.”
Another Lord of the Rings actor also said he would be up for returning in a future film. Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s original trilogy, told The Independent series Go to Bat he would reprise the role “if it seemed right and was faithful to what Tolkien wrote”.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled for release in 2027.
