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McKellen Eager to Play Gandalf in The Hobbit

Film 'likely' to happen, with or without Peter Jackson directing

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 15, 2007 9:05 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Ian McKellen wants to play Gandalf again if The Hobbit film ever gets greenlit, the Los Angeles Times reports. A bitter royalties battle with New Line Cinema may stop director Peter Jackson from directing the flick, but no matter: He told McKellen to "play Gandalf whether I direct or not." The film is is "looking more and more likely" to happen, McKellen says, with or without Jackson.

The Rings series made McKellen a bankable star and earned him an Oscar nod for the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring. "I became more of an actor because I could play before the cameras," McKellen says. "It made for a big change in my life." He's now touring as King Lear, getting critical raves as secondhand ticket prices top $1,700 in Los Angeles.

British actor Sir Ian McKellen poses for a photograph at a Singapore theater Wednesday, July 18, 2007, while traveling with the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform William Shakespeare's King Lear and Antan Chekhov's The Seagull. (AP Photo/Jonathan Drake)
British actor Sir Ian McKellen poses for a photograph at a Singapore theater Wednesday, July 18, 2007, while traveling with the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and...   (Associated Press)
Ian McKellen, shown in this photo provided by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, stars as the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of King Lear,'' in this file photo. (AP Photo/Brooklyn Academy of Music/Stephanie Berger)
Ian McKellen, shown in this photo provided by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, stars as the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of "King Lear,'' in this file photo. (AP Photo/Brooklyn...   (Associated Press)
British actor Sir Ian McKellen laughs during a news conference at a Singapore theater on July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Jonathan Drake)
British actor Sir Ian McKellen laughs during a news conference at a Singapore theater on July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Jonathan Drake)   (Associated Press)
Sir Ian McKellen portrays Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Sir Ian McKellen portrays Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.   (KRT Photos)
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Jackson may yet direct "Hobbit"--more on the New Line dispute
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Peter Jackson • New Line Cinema • Ian McKellen

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