Ian McKellen Definitely Returning as Gandalf in New Lord Of The Rings

25 years on from first donning the wizard hat as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Sir Ian McKellen is returning to the role.

It’s not in Amazon’s eye-wateringly expensive Rings of Power prequel series, however, since in this time period, Gandalf’s a young man (well, relatively).

Instead, McKellen is eyeing a reprisal in upcoming feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum . Directed by Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, and co-produced by Jackson, the film is currently at the earliest stages of pre-production.

"I'm told Gandalf's involved but I'm not yet told how much he's going to be paid or how much he gets to say, so I think we'll leave it there," McKellen told Sky.

In addition, Andy Serkis teases cameos galore in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum .

It will be years before we see him in the role, however, which gives McKellen time to recover from a nasty incident in the summer when he fell of the stage playing Sir John Falstaff in a production of Shakespeare's Henry IV.

"I felt ashamed of myself, I felt I let the audience down and I felt guilty," Sir Ian said, admitting he is still "having to deal with it emotionally".

Before The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum , you can see McKellen in new film The Critic . Set in 1930’s London, he plays an influential theater reviewer who lures an actress (Gemma Arterton) into an illegal scheme.