Sir Ian McKellen Open To Reprising Gandalf In New 'Lord Of The Rings' Films

TV & Film

Sep 9

There’s so much love for The Lord of the Rings franchise, with projects such as The Rings of Power putting it back into the eyes of general audiences. Earlier this year, a new film was announced, with Andy Serkis in the director’s chair. And it seems that the film will feature Gandalf, as per Sir Ian McKellen’s latest interview with Big Issue.

In the interview, which also covered his recent stage fall, McKellen said, “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. When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”

It certainly sounds like McKellen will be there should the word be given. As for recovering from that stage fall, “I’m left feeling weak physically, which I’m doing exercises for. And, of course, it’s emotional. We all trip all our lives, it’s just when you get to my age you can’t always get up again. I’m just trying to convince myself it was an accident.”

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The fall occurred two months into a season of Player Kings, in which McKellen fell into the audience of London’s Noel Coward Theatre. Though mostly unharmed, the incident has given him pause. Though not wanting to retire, he has said he is taking on no work for the rest of 2024. “Not because I need to, just because I want to.”

As for the new film, The Hunt For Gollum will see the team behind the original trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy return. Along with McKellen with Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen has also expressed interest in returning to the franchise, reprising his role as Aragorn. The Hunt For Gollum is scheduled for a 2026 release, with a second untitled film to follow.

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