The back and forth seems to be over for the LotR prequel “The Hobbit” where audiences will see ol’ Bilbo Baggins on his younger adventures. Filming is supposed to start sometime in 2009 which means there are still plenty of aspects to finalize. That would of course include casting which raises a lot of interest considering everyone is well invested in certain actors playing certain characters. Gandalf is definitely one of those high profile characters with actor Ian McKellen already discussing the possibility of him returning to his famous role:

“Yes, I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor,” [Ian] McKellen, 68, said in a reply dated Wednesday.

“Encouragingly, Peter and (partner) Fran Walsh have told me they couldn’t imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf.”

I couldn’t imagine a Hobbit or LotR movie that didn’t include McKellen as everyone’s favorite wizard. Even if Jackson doesn’t return in some leadership role on the production I think we’ll still see McKellen. If New Line knows what’s good for their profits, and I think they do, they’ll be drowning him in cash to get back in that robe.

Discuss: If Ian McKellen doesn’t come back as Gandalf will you still want to see The Hobbit? Who else could fill a role like that?

Source: USA Today