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WELLINGTON — Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf the Wizard in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, is hoping to reprise the role in another tale from Middle Earth.
A fan asked McKellen on the actor's official Web site if he would play the role of Gandalf in "The Hobbit," which is being produced by Peter Jackson, director of the "Rings" trilogy.
"Yes, I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor," McKellen, 68, said in a reply dated Wednesday.
Jackson reached a deal with New Line Cinema late last year to make two films of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster "Rings" trilogy. Jackson will serve as executive producer for the "Hobbit" movies.
Another fan asked: "Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else" to play the ancient Wizard?
McKellen replied: "Encouragingly, Peter and (partner) Fran Walsh have told me they couldn't imagine `The Hobbit' without their original Gandalf."
"Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro, but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!" he said.
Del Toro's manager, Gary Ungar, told The Associated Press on Friday that del Toro, director of "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," is being considered for the "Hobbit" films.
"It's still under discussion, (but) yes," he said.
He declined to give any details, but when asked about an announcement timeline, he said: "I hope it resolves soon. .... Everybody has to agree in everything."
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Associated Press Writer Sigal Ratner-Arias in New York City contributed to this report.
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New Line is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
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1.3
{"commentId":1629660,"authorDomain":"thescottspot"}
Why two movies?
A single LOTR volume was twice as long as the hobbit yet each had only one film. Making the hobbit two films would have been like making the Lord of the Rings series a twelve part series.
Money... I hate it.
{"commentId":1629660,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"thescottspot"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:53 AM EDT{"commentId":1630021,"authorDomain":"anthopos"}
As the two movies need to stand alone, I wonder where they would split the story. My guess is, the first would end right after Bilbo gets the ring and they escape from the goblin tunnels.
{"commentId":1630021,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"anthopos"}
{"commentId":1630617,"authorDomain":"rbrazys"}
@1.1 Agreed, thats about the middle of the story and after a major climax in the story. I am actually please to see this being considered as a two movie deal because that allows them to really paint the shire and surrounding areas in their full glorious detail as Tolkien does so well with his writing.
As long as the Trilogy films were w/extensions on DVD and such, for the sake of continuity and time they still had to concatenate the stories leaving out important side plots like Tom Bombadil and other details. Hopefully this will give them the opportunity to bring even more of the little details to film.
{"commentId":1630617,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"rbrazys"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1629967,"authorDomain":"cobbs"}
I agree that it does seem to be about the money. But I did read some where a reason given about being able to tell the whole story and not have to cut parts out like they did with LOTR. Tom Bombadil for one.
{"commentId":1629967,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"cobbs"}
- 1 vote
#2 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:56 AM EDT{"commentId":1630088,"authorDomain":"athenianmaiden"}
Its a shame. I think splitting up the Hobbit into two movies will kill the rhythm of the storyline and the movie. All for money. But at least we'll have Gandalf.
{"commentId":1630088,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"athenianmaiden"}
- 1 vote
#3 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:23 AM EDT{"commentId":1630143,"authorDomain":"anthopos"}
I agree. I speculated above about where they would split the story, but wherever they split it, it will throw off the story flow.
{"commentId":1630143,"threadId":"241491","contentId":"1395943","authorDomain":"anthopos"}
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