“A Wizard Is Never Late, Frodo Baggins…” God knows we need Gandalf more than ever now, considering what Prime Video has done with The Lord of the Rings’ lore with its Rings of Power series. It seems like Sir Ian McKellen may once again step in the shoes of Gandalf The Grey. The veteran says he’s been approached about reprising the iconic LOTR character in Andy Serkis’ forthcoming The Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum.
Ever since David Zaslav announced ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ back in May 2024, fans have been theorising about the possible returns of many actors from Peter Jackson’s movies. While many actors have playfully avoided or ignored the questions related to their casting in the film, Sir Ian McKellen, however, has addressed this matter openly.
In his recent chat with The Big Issue, McKellen talked about his appearance in the upcoming LOTR movies. “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings shows no sign of abating,” he said. “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.”
Andy Serkis will be both starring and helming two more “Lord of the Rings” films centered around Gollum. While the first film is tentatively scheduled for release in 2026, McKellen has revealed that they haven’t started working on the script yet. But we should expect these movies’ events to take place before the original LOTR trilogy, as Gollum met his demise in The Return of the King (2003). We could get a proper backstory about the troubled, manipulative, deceitful, and often pitiable protagonist in these movies.
Peter Jackson, along with his partners Philippa Boyens and Fran Welsh, will return as producers for the forthcoming The Lord of the Rings movies. Stay tuned for more updates.