Ian McKellen confirmed for The Hobbit

Ian McKellen has confirmed he will reprise his role of Gandalf for The Hobbit.

 

Ian McKellen has confirmed he will reprise his role of Gandalf for The Hobbit. The actor announced he had signed up for The Hobbit via his official website. The news comes as Andy Sirkis also confirms he will reprise his role of Gollum for the two part Hobbit movie. Fans had been waiting for news of the two’s casting in The Hobbit especially as Orlando Bloom and Cate Blanchett have already been confirmed to appear even though their characters do not appear in the book.

 

On his official website Ian McKellen explains why his casting in The Hobbit took so long and also reveals filming begins in February.

 

“All I had to decide was what to do with the time that is given me. I’m 71 and fit: though at my age who knows what accident is ’round the next corner? For a year or more, I have been arranging my professional commitments around the possibility of The Hobbit films starting at almost anytime. We brought the Waiting for Godot tour of Australia to New Zealand early 2010, assuming I would stay on to start shooting soon after. Then there was yet another delay: but in Wellington I met with Guillermo del Toro and later read his script for Part One, written with the LOTR writing team. It was true to the style, the fun and the romance of the trilogy.

 

“When Peter Jackson, already producing, resumed the director’s chair, he kept me in touch with developments. A second screenplay was sent over, on the understanding that I would not talk about what I read in it. After the ruckus over trade union expectations and unlikely rumours of filming outside New Zealand, suddenly crucial casting was announced, plus a start date in February 2011. Martin Freeman as Bilbo sounds perfect. As my agent continued to negotiate with Warner Brothers, I kept wondering was Gandalf what I most wanted to do, more than a new play for instance or indeed a new part? Sequels aren’t necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals.

 

“Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did? Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore? The deciding negotiation was not about money but about dates. Gandalf is needed on set over the next 18 months but with sizeable breaks when I can work on other projects. My worry that I could not easily escape from Middle Earth was lifted. I am happy to say I start filming in Wellington on February 21 2011.” – Ian McKellen on his official website

 

Already cast in The Hobbit are Martin Freeman, James Nesbit, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Richard Armitage.