Ian McKellen Is Open to Returning as Gandalf in New "Lord of the Rings" Movies

Ian McKellen, who played the beloved grey pilgrim Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" first three films as well as the subsequent “Hobbit” movies, revealed there is work behind the scenes to bring him back for the new movies.

“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,” McKellen told British magazine The Big Issue. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”.

Earlier this year, Warner Bros. said the first new movie in the series is set to be released in 2026 and focuses on Gollum, played by Andy Serkis in the original movies. It will shoot under the working title of “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum”.

The films’ original director, Peter Jackson, will produce the movie alongside his longtime producing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The pic is still in the early stages of development. Serkis is set to executive produce alongside Ken Kamins and Jonathan Cavendish.

McKellen, 85, recently suffered significant physical harm including a chipped vertebrae after falling during a stage performance of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2” in the U.K. 

The accident occurred earlier this summer in London’s Noël Coward Theatre and forced the acclaimed actor to cut short his run as buffoonish kingly companion Falstaff, with only the fat suit he was wearing preventing him from being more seriously injured after he tripped on stage and fell into the audience.

“I’m left feeling weak physically, which I’m doing exercises for,” McKellen said of the accident. “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 [rather than old age],” he added. “I’m usually working or preparing to work, I’ve been doing a little bit of that, wondering what might be the best plan. I’m going to take the rest of the year off. Not because I need to, just because I want to.”