As declared by Gandalf himself, “A wizard is never late … he arrives precisely when he means to.”
Ian McKellen appears to have taken that sentiment to coronary heart after portraying the J.R.R. Tolkien character throughout six “Lord of the Rings” movies, because the actor revealed a number of months after two new motion pictures have been introduced that he’s greater than able to reprise his iconic position.
“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 advised British publication Huge Difficulty on Monday. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”
Whereas the beloved 85-year-old actor beforehand advised The Occasions of London that he’d solely return as Gandalf “if I’m alive,” there’s no telling what the upcoming installments, which have been revealed in Might, have in retailer. The pedigree behind them is slightly promising, nevertheless.
Peter Jackson, who directed the unique “Lord of the Rings” trilogy to monumental acclaim and field workplace success, is returning to provide the movies — one in every of which is tentatively titled “The Hunt for Gollum” — with each reportedly scheduled to reach in 2026.
“The Hunt for Gollum” remains to be being written and within the protected fingers of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, each of whom penned the unique trilogy, in addition to Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, who each co-wrote an upcoming animated “Rings” entry titled “The War of Rohirrim.”
Moreover, Andy Serkis is reprising his position as Gollum and directing “The Hunt.”
“Yesssss, Precious,” Serkis mentioned in a press release in Might, based on Entertainment Weekly. “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa … it’s just all too delicious…”
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McKellen’s feedback got here in the future after fellow “Rings” alum Dominic Monaghan shared a curious picture of himself at dinner with former co-stars Elijah Wooden and Billy Boyd, which some imagine is proof that they, too, will return to Center-earth.
Whereas followers await affirmation, McKellen is taking a while off after a latest fall on the Noël Coward Theatre in London. He advised Huge Difficulty that, though he’s present process bodily remedy and doing properly, the tumble shook him up and reminded him of his mortality.
“We all trip all our lives, it’s just when you get to my age you can’t always get up again,” he mentioned, including, “I’m going to take the rest of the year off. Not because I need to, just because I want to.”
