Ian McKellen Has Perfect Response To New Gandalf Actor Speculation
Ian McKellen offers up the perfect response to online speculation about whether a new Gandalf could appear in Amazon's Lord of the Rings series. There are very few actors who are more legendary than McKellen. From X-Men's Magneto to Lord of the Rings' Gandalf, McKellen has perfectly portrayed numerous iconic characters over the course of his impressive career. When it comes to the Middle-earth wizard, he's played Gandalf in two different trilogies, as he was one of the original Lord of the Rings stars who returned for the Hobbit movies.
Middle-earth has remained quiet for some time when it comes to film, but it will soon be brought back to fantastical life on the small screen. Amazon's The Lord of the Rings will finally premiere in September 2022 after a lengthy development and production process. The series will explore Middle-earth's Second Age and focus on a cast of mainly new characters. At the same time, a few familiar figures from The Lord of the Rings will appear on the show, including Galadriel and Elrond.
We here at Screen Rant (namely features writer Craig Elvy) recently speculated over whether a younger version of Gandalf could also cameo in The Lord of the Rings in a feature titled "How Gandalf Can Appear In Amazon's Lord of the Rings (But Not Ian McKellen)." Amusingly, this caught the eye of the beloved actor himself. Unable to resist commenting, McKellen offered a fabulously dry response: "I think this would be the most upsetting headline I’d ever read, if I weren’t gainfully employed elsewhere."
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When the subject of another Gandalf appearing in Amazon's Lord of the Rings first arose in 2017, McKellen's response was rather different. Instead, he poked fun at the idea of someone else taking on the role, suggesting he isn't too old to play the practically immortal character. Nowadays, though, McKellen has changed his tune. He spent this year playing Hamlet in England and will soon begin performances in another stage production, The Cherry Orchard.
Screen Rant's feature about Gandalf appearing in Amazon's Lord of the Rings show isn't a confirmation that he'll turn up. So far, the only Lord of the Rings characters confirmed to appear are the aforementioned Galadriel and Elrond, and Sauron. The piece about Gandalf was more speculation, so McKellen can rest easy for now. He remains the definitive Gandalf, and it's probably safe to say that even if someone new does take on the role someday, he'll still be fans' top choice. McKellen's performance is still inspiring chills and cheers from fans, and while he might've despaired once over someone else taking over the part, he doesn't have to worry about fans losing affection for him.
Source: Ian McKellen/Twitter