Right at the start of the summer, a surprising piece of news came in: Warner Bros is pursuing new Lord Of The Rings films, starting with The Hunt For Gollum – a Peter Jackson-produced entry that would see Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, step up as director. Not only that, but it was aiming for a 2026 release date, meaning things will likely be ramping up on the development and pre-production side in order to get cameras rolling. Since the announcement, things have been all quiet on the Tolkien front (aside from the non-Jackson-affiliated return of Prime Video series The Rings Of Power). But the latest bit of news comes from Ian McKellen – who indicates that he may be back in the wizard cloak as Gandalf.

Speaking to the Big Issue, McKellen shared what he knew about the new Rings movies – frankly, not very much. But, he claimed that they would involve the return of Gandalf, with the idea being that he’ll take on the role again. “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,” he said. “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!” The 85-year-old was recently on stage in a production of Player Kings, but was forced to drop out after a stage fall left him with significant injuries. McKellen previously played Gandalf in all three Lord Of The Rings films, as well as each entry in The Hobbit trilogy.

While the world awaits further updates on The Hunt For Gollum, there’s plenty to keep Tolkien fans entertained in the meantime – not just the weekly drops of The Rings Of Power Season 2, but also upcoming Jackson-affiliated anime feature film The War Of The Rohirrim, due in cinemas late in 2024. Fingers crossed Serkis can get moving swiftly enough on Gollum to get Gandalf the Grey back in action. Fly, you fools!