Ian McKellen wants to reprise his role as Gandalf in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings

In a surprising twist of events, Sir Ian McKellen is interested in reprising his role as the wizard Gandalf in Amazon’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings.

Can you imagine Lord of the Rings without Sir Ian McKellen in the role of the wizened wizard Gandalf? Well, neither can he. Speaking to Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show, McKellen was asked how he would feel if another actor was cast as Gandalf.

"What do you mean, another Gandalf? I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7000 years old, so I’m not too old."

A perfect answer from the man who literally made Gandalf a pop-icon. The problem with McKellen returning as Gandalf is Amazon has yet to confirm what era in Middle Earth it will tackle. Obviously, with the title Lord of the Rings, the thought is that Amazon will go with a story from that time, but it could just be a placeholder until the company decides on where/when it will go.

However, because Gandalf is such an ancient character in Lord of the Rings, it would be no problem for McKellen to take on the mantle of the wizard once again, even if the stories that happen in the new show predate the actual Lord of the Rings arc.

Next: HBO reveals why it passed on ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV series

With director Peter Jackson covering both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, it’s a safe bet that Amazon will go a completely different way. Let’s just hope McKellen as Gandalf shows up at some point, because as we all know, a wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

H/T The Wrap