Sir Ian McKellen Will Return as Gandalf in The Hobbit
Posted 11.28.10 by BrentJS
Just when it seemed like all of the bad news of the past few months surrounding the planned two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy was in the past, with the movies finally getting a green light and a lead actor (Martin Freeman) to play "Burglar" Bilbo Baggins, Sir Ian McKellen dropped a bombshell on LOTR fans earlier this month by announcing that he was "not under contract" to reprise the role of Gandalf the Grey (or White depending on which movie we're talking about) in The Hobbit. Well, now all of Hobbiton can celebrate with a pint of Butterbeer and some Wizard Weed because Sir McKellen has revealed, via his personal web-site, that he will be returning as Gandalf in the "2010's" section of his filmography.
THE HOBBIT's, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in February 2011. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth.
Peter Jackson, the director of the LOTR trilogy, co-wrote, is co-producing and will direct The Hobbit. Andy Serkis, who received numerous nominations and won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his motion-capture role of Sméagol/Gollum in LOTR, will also be returning in The Hobbit. Joining the cast as the company of dwarves who journey with Bilbo to the dragon Smaug's mountain fortress are Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, Mark Hadlow, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, and Peter Hambleton .