Ian McKellen is all in when it comes to revisiting Middle-earth.
The 85-year-old revealed that although he is on board with reprising his role as the wizard Gandalf in the upcoming new “Lord of the Rings” movies, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
In an interview with Big Issue published Monday, McKellen hinted that he won’t be acting forever.
“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,” he said. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”
McKellen played the wise wizard in the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels.
The English actor first appeared as Gandalf in the 2001 movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination. After starring in “The Two Towers” (2002) and “The Return of the King” (2003), he reprised his role in the “Hobbit” films.
Now, filmmakers Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis are teaming up for “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2026.
Jackson told Deadline in May about how the film will depict the Gollum character that “it’s too soon to know who will cross his path.”
“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,” he continued. “Suffice to say we will take our lead from Professor Tolkien.”
These days, the performer is recovering from his fall offstage during a West End performance in June. Last month, McKellen told Saga Magazine that he’s been taking it easy since the incident, in which he chipped a vertebra and fractured his wrist.
“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet healed,” he explained. “I avoid going out because I’m nervous someone might bump into me, and I’ve been dealing with agonizing pain in my shoulders due to the jolt my body took. But the fat suit I wore for Falstaff saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky.”
Elsewhere in the “Lord of the Rings” universe, several franchise stars held a mini cast reunion over the weekend.
On Sunday, Dominic Monaghan posted a picture of himself at a table with fellow hobbits Elijah Wood and Billy Boyd. The trio raised their glasses in a toast as they smiled for the camera.
“Some things never change,” the actor, 47, captioned the photo.
The reunion comes four months after Monaghan, Wood, 43, and Boyd, 56, got together with Orlando Bloom, who played the elf Legolas in the Oscar-winning films.
“3 hobbits and an elf and the CONVERSATION tonight was VAULTED,” Monaghan wrote on Instagram at the time.
In the meantime, fans have the “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” TV series to hold them over, as Prime Video launched Season 2 last Thursday.
“We’re also going to be the fans taking in what I know, even without having seen it, is the most epic battle sequence that we have coming up for season 2,” the series’ star Cynthia Addai-Robinson told Entertainment Weekly in July.
“It feels really cinematic this season. You know in the first season that was the case as well, but I just think we’ve got to top ourselves, and I feel like we’ve done that. So I’m excited just to watch it myself.”
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