Ian McKellen Is Open to Playing Gandalf Again in THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM but Says Filmmakers "Better Be Quick"
Ian McKellen has been approached about playing Gandalf again in director Andy Serkis’ upcoming Middle Earth movie The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and it’s something that he is open to doing. But, he warns, that the filmmakers “better be quick.”
During a recent interview with The Big Issue, McKellan, who played the fan-favorite wizard in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, offered an update saying:
"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."
The actor added: "When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick.” When asked previously asked if he's interested in returning to the role, he replied with a chuckle, "If I'm alive."
It makes sense that Gandalf would be a part of this new story, but McKellen knows he won’t be able to play this character forever.
Peter Jackson is producing the film along with his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens who will write the script along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
A variety of films will “explore storylines yet to be told,” and this particular film will obviously focus on Gollum. As you might imagine, there are some familiar faces that could appear in the movie, and one of the big ones is Gandalf.
During a previous interview, Jackson opened up about the story they are looking to tell offering some insight on why they wanted to tell this tragic story of Gollum.
Jackson explained: “The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic.
“I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there’s a little bit of both of them in all of us. We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films.
“It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.”
Are you excited about The Hunt For Gollum? Do you hope that McKellen gets to play Gandalf again?