As Andy Serkis prepares to return to Middle-Earth, he’s hoping Sir Ian McKellen will join him. More on the new Lord Of The Rings films below.
In May, we reported that a pair of new Lord Of The Rings films is in development, with the first film hitting screens in 2026. Andy Serkis is set to direct and also reprise his groundbreaking role as Gollum from Peter Jackson’s original awards juggernaut trilogy.
Another actor Warner Bros is hoping will reprise their role is Sir Ian McKellen. McKellen, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained from falling off a stage, told The Big Issue that he has been asked to play Gandalf once more.
“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,” McKellen told the print magazine. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”
It’s not exactly confirmation for McKellen’s return but we’re hoping a deal could be worked out between Warner Bros and McKellen. After all, could anyone else ever play Gandalf?
It seems to still be early days for the first new Lord Of The Rings film, although as McKellen notes, they really should get a move on if they wish to make that promised 2026 release. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are in charge of the script and the two will also produce the films with original director Peter Jackson. There’s no word on who might be directing or starring in the second film, but it seems that the creative team have their hands full getting the first one out the door.
The working title for the first film is Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The new pair of films isn’t a direct adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, but there were extensive works published after the death of the author that explored the mythology of Middle-Earth. Those could be used as inspiration for the new stories, but Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav said the first film is based on “storylines yet to be told”.
More on the new Lord Of The Rings films as we hear it.
