The English actor implies that he doesn't want to see another actor playing the character, insisting he's not too old to reprise the role.
- Dec 18, 2017
AceShowbiz - After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit" movies, Ian McKellen may once again appear as Gandalf on "The Lord of the Rings" TV series. The movie vet says he's willing to reprise the role for the small-screen adaptation if he's asked to.
"I haven't said yes because I haven't been asked," he says on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show. Asked if it would be annoying to see another actor as Gandalf, he responds, "What do you mean, another Gandalf?"
The 78-year-old actor goes on insisting that he's not too old to play the character. "But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7000 years old, so I'm not too old," so he claims.
Back in November, Amazon Studios announced that it acquired global TV rights to "The Lord of the Rings", which is based on popular novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The streaming outlet greenlit the project with a multi-season commitment, which also includes a potential spin-off series, after HBO and Netflix passed on it.
" 'The Lord of the Rings' is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen," said Sharon Tal Yguado, Amazon's new head of scripted. "We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking the Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth."
Set in Middle Earth, the upcoming TV series will explore new storylines preceding Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring". It's reported that the rights holders, however, imposed some creative restrictions on what can be done and what can't be done on the planned TV project. Other details about the upcoming TV series are currently not available.
