Ian McKellen has 'heard' Gandalf will appear in the next Lord of the Rings film, but isn't sure if he's playing him

A new Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum, is on the way. While one familiar face is back – Andy Serkis is reprising his role as Gollum, as well as being on directing duties – it's not yet been confirmed whether other iconic characters will show up once more in Middle-earth.

Speaking to The Times, Sir Ian McKellen says he has 'heard' that Gandalf will appear in The Hunt for Gollum but, as of yet, "there is no script, there is no offer, there is no plan." On whether he'd be up for a return as the wizard, McKellen jokingly replied, "If I'm alive."

McKellen has portrayed Gandalf, in both his gray and white iterations, across all three of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, as well as 2012-2014's Hobbit trilogy.

"It is an honor and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that stinker — Gollum," producer and Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson (who is involved "every step of the way" according to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav) said in a statement alongside The Hunt for Gollum writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Another Lord of the Rings actor, Viggo Mortensen, has recently told GQ he will only return to play Aragorn if it is "right for the character."

"Sure. I don't know exactly what the story is, I haven't heard. Maybe I'll hear about it eventually," he said. "I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise."

The Hunt for Gollum is currently in the early scripting stage; it will be the first in a "batch" of new features. An animated film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, is out this December. 

Over on Prime Video, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 takes us back to the Second Age again on August 29.

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