Since David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, announced by 2026 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt of Gollum‘, a new ‘Lord of the Rings’ film based on Gollum, rumors about the return of the cast of the original trilogy have only continued. The problem is that 25 years have passed since ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’, and some of the protagonists of that one are already too old… or not.
In the case of Ian McKellen, Gandalf in the movies, The British actor is 85 years old, and would turn 87 for the film’s premiere. Even so, McKellen has always stated that he will only leave the world of acting when he dies, so you have to ask him if he is on the boat before assuming anything. And that is precisely what the British media The Times has done.
The actor, without losing his characteristic sense of humor, comments that “has heard commotions in the land of Tolkien“and that “he hasn’t shaved in months” due to another role he had to play recently, so he already has one of the requirements to return as Gandalf. Of course, he makes it clear that “There is no script, there is no offer, there is no plan.“, so his presence is not guaranteed. Would you say yes if there is a script, offer and plan? The actor returns to humor: “If I’m alive…“.
Andy Serkis yes, Viggo Mortensen maybe
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ is already confirmed the return of Andy Serkis in the role of Sméagol. But not only that, He will also be the director of the film, with Peter Jackson in production duties. Although it may seem surprising, Serkis has experience in this field, having directed ‘Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle’ or ‘Venom: There Will Be Carnage’.
And what about Aragorn? In an interview for GQ, Viggo Mortensen also expressed his thoughts on returning, as long as age (Mortensen is now 65 years old) is not a problem for the development of his character or the realism of the film:
“I don’t know exactly what the story is, I’m not aware. Maybe I will find out at some point. But I like playing that character, I learned a lot from him. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if it was appropriate in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so on. I would only do it if it was right for the character. It would be foolish to do it any other way.
