Ian McKellen to Return as Gandalf in New 'Lord of the Rings' Films

85-Year-Old Sir Ian McKellen Isn’t Ready to Hang Up Gandalf’s Hat Just Yet

By Emma Taggart on September 9, 2024

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With the new Lord of the Rings movie set for release in 2026, fans of the popular fantasy franchise can rest assured knowing that Sir Ian McKellen, at 85 years old, has no intention of stepping away from his iconic role as Gandalf.

McKellen portrayed the wizard Gandalf in both the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit films, proving he’s the perfect fit for the role. He wholeheartedly agrees, telling BBC Breakfast in an interview, “I'm not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.”

McKellen remains enthusiastic despite facing some recent health challenges. In June of this year, while performing Player Kings in London’s West End, he suffered a fall off the stage, resulting in a broken wrist and a chipped vertebra.

Although McKellen is expected to make a quick physical recovery, the accident left him shaken. “I said to myself as I tripped and slid off the stage, ‘This is the end.’ These were the words in my mind, ‘This is the end,’” he reveals. “And apparently I shouted out, ‘My neck is broken, I’m dying.’ I don't remember saying that, so there was a lot going on in my head as the body responded to the fall.”

The beloved actor plans to take the rest of the year off to recover, but the accident hasn’t dampened his passion for acting. He reveals, “I shall just keep at it as long as the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working.”

The upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum movie—with Andy Serkis directing and starring as Gollum—is now in the early stages of script development. It will be the first of two new films in the Lord of the Rings series, created by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. While details remain under wraps, McKellen is eager to once again return as the beloved Gandalf nearly two decades after the original film franchise’s release.

“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 says. “When? I don't know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick.”