The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum may be centered on Andy Serkis’ ring-obsessed Gollum, but he won’t be the only fan-favorite J.R.R. Tolkien character returning to the big screen.
During a panel at the For Love of Fantasy fan event in London on Sunday (August 17), Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the original The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, confirmed both Gandalf and Frodo will be in the upcoming spinoff film.
“I hear there’s going to be another movie set in Middle-earth, and it’s going to start filming in May. It’s going to be directed by Gollum and it’s all about Gollum,” McKellen teased.
“I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting: There’s a character in the movie called Frodo, and there’s another character called Gandalf. Apart from that, my lips are sealed!” he added.
The actor did not clarify if he and actor Elijah Wood will be reprising their roles as Gandalf and the young hobbit Frodo respectively, only that the characters will appear in the upcoming film.
The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled for release in theaters on December 17, 2027.
Serkis is directing the movie as well as reprising his role as the corrupted, tragic Gollum, originally a hobbit named Sméagol, with original Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson co-producing.
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McKellen expressed his interest in returning to the screen as the wise Middle-earth wizard in an interview with Big Issue magazine in 2024.
“Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings films shows no sign of abating. I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told that there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him,” the actor teased, clarifying: “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick.”
In a separate interview last year, the X-Men star added he’s “not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.”
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