Not that long ago, we confirmed that Peter Jackson was indeed coming back to The Lord of the Rings franchise, but as a producer, and that a new movie had been confirmed for a 2026 release. The movie was soon revealed to be The Hunt for Gollum, and we also received confirmation that Andy Serkis would be coming back to the role that made him famous, but that he would also be directing the movie as well. As part of a large plan to revitalize The Lord of the Rings cinematic franchise, all of this news certainly seems interesting, and so are the casting rumors.

Serkis is the only confirmed actor so far, but we have reported recently that Viggo Mortensen is open to returning as Aragorn, and we have now received news of another cast member from the original trilogy expressing his desire to return to the franchise, but there is a very morbid catch.

The character in question is none other than Gandalf, who was one of the most important and popular characters from the original trilogy. A wise and old wizard, Gandalf was pivotal in gathering the Fellowship of the Ring, as well as helping them reach Mordor and destroy the One Ring. A source of wisdom and knowledge, as well as a very powerful entity, Gandalf, was a much-respected character in Tolkien’s universe.

Gandalf was portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, thus becoming one of a small number of actors who appeared in both trilogies directed by Peter Jackson. Now, The Hunt for Gollum has been announced, and while we only know that Andy Serkis will be returning for the movie, Ian McKellen is one of the actors who’ve expressed their desire to return for the upcoming movie.

Namely, McKellen has confirmed that he’s heard that Gandalf would be included in the film, and while he did express his desire to reprise the role, there is one somewhat bizarre condition that has to be met for McKellen to actually return, and that is:

“If you want to know that you are mortal you just have to look at your address book. And so when a script comes through, or the hint of an offer, you think, ‘This might be my last job. No. I’m not doing that.’ So if Falstaff is my last job, I’d better get it right, hadn’t I? (…) And I haven’t shaved in months. But there is no script, there is no offer, there is no plan. (…) If I’m alive.”

Source: The Times

As you can see, Gandalf will probably be back in the movie, and the 85-year-old actor is prone to going back to the role, but only if he is still alive, which is a very funny and morbid moment, but we’re hopeful that we’ll be seeing McKellen as Gandalf in the movie.

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