Ian McKellen Definitely Returning as Gandalf in New Lord Of The Rings

25 years on from first donning the wizard hat as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Sir Ian McKellen is returning to the role.

It’s not in Amazon’s eye-wateringly expensive Rings of Power prequel series, however, since in this time period, Gandalf’s a young man (well, relatively).

Instead, McKellen is eyeing a reprisal in upcoming feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Directed by Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, and co-produced by Jackson, the film is currently at the earliest stages of pre-production.

<p>New Line Cinemas</p>

New Line Cinemas

"I'm told Gandalf's involved but I'm not yet told how much he's going to be paid or how much he gets to say, so I think we'll leave it there," McKellen told Sky.

In addition, Andy Serkis teases cameos galore in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

It will be years before we see him in the role, however, which gives McKellen time to recover from a nasty incident in the summer when he fell of the stage playing Sir John Falstaff in a production of Shakespeare's Henry IV.

"I felt ashamed of myself, I felt I let the audience down and I felt guilty," Sir Ian said, admitting he is still "having to deal with it emotionally".

Before The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, you can see McKellen in new film The Critic. Set in 1930’s London, he plays an influential theater reviewer who lures an actress (Gemma Arterton) into an illegal scheme.