Ian McKellen Has Read Script for The Hobbit

Lord of the Ring’s Ian McKellan who played Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy recently spoke with Sci-Fi Wire about the upcoming Hobbit movie. In fact, he did more than just talk about the project – he talked about the script which he has read. If you don’t already know Guillermo del Toro will direct the film which was co-written by Peter Jackson. McKellan did say that Jackson has written the part of Gandalf specifically for the actor who is expected to reprise his role in The Hobbit. Continue reading to hear what McKellan had to say about the upcoming project.

“As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for,” McKellen told Sci-Fi Wire exclusively in an interview last week while promoting AMC’s The Prisoner. “There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit, including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”

McKellan went on to say that taking on the role of Gandalf completely changed his life. Here is what he had to say:

“I can’t believe it’s 10 years for me,” I remember being told by a friend in Hollywood that ‘your life is going to change,’ and it has. Gandalf is an extremely famous character, and I quite like having him around the corner. He’s very popular.”

The Hobbit will be a two part film with the first film to arrive in theaters in December 2011 and the second part a year later in December 2012.