'Lord of the Rings' TV Show: Sir Ian McKellen Willing to Reprise Gandalf in Amazon Series
Sir Ian McKellen would like to play Gandalf again on "Lord of the Rings" (LOTR) series. Following the news that Amazon is planning a TV show around the Tolkien classic, McKellen said that no one else should play the iconic role except him.
McKellen told "The Graham Norton Show" about what he thinks of the upcoming series. When the host suggested that there will be another Gandalf on the screen, the actor shot back in amusement.
"Isn't that annoying, that there's going to be another Gandalf in town?" Norton asked. "What do you mean, 'another Gandalf'?" McKellen replied.
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The actor confirmed that he has not yet been asked to join the Amazon production of "Lord of the Rings." He, however, said that he can still play the part of the wizard if asked since Gandalf is supposed to be 7,000 years old.
"I'm not too old [yet]," McKellen joked.
McKellen played Gandalf the Wise in the Peter Jackson trilogy from 2001 to 2003. He played the role again for the prequel trilogy of "The Hobbit" from 2012 to 2014. The actor earned several acting nominations for the role including an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
Meanwhile, Amazon announced in November that it landed a multi-season deal with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema for the series. The streaming platform plans to do a prequel to LOTR but other details about the show, such as the writers and cast, as well as the start of production, have not yet been mapped out.
Tolkien's estate discussed the possibility of bringing "Lord of The Rings" to the small screen with Amazon, HBO and Netflix. HBO CEO Richard Plepler passed on the offer because it wanted to own 100 percent of its intellectual property and not co-produce the production with New Line. Amazon, meanwhile, paid $250 million for the TV show.
