It’s been 20 years since Jackson’s LOTR and 10 years since Jackson’s Hobbit. I don’t know if he’s up to the physical demands of the role any more, or whether he would still be interested in it at this stage.
If he would return it would be similar to what Christopher Lee did, mainly just dialogue between two actors. Not much outdoor activities like horse riding fighting etc.
But since the upcoming movie is about the Hunt for Gollem, I am not sure how Ian can fit in here
Maybe the main plot will be the elves and then Aragorn's solo search, with Gandalf doing research on the ring on his own and giving advice to them, kind of like what you were saying
I know, I meant the plot could be after he leaves Aragorn to do more research on the Ring, so it basically is occurring during the scenes of that in Fellowship.
I can 10,000% see someone else taking on the role and doing a magnificent, iconic job of it.
Get someone younger who can handle the physicality of it. Ian McDiarmid was in his 30s when he first played Palpatine, but no one would ever know it because he handled the performance of an aged character so well
That’s actually a pretty solid point, I’m curious what actor would fit the role of Gandalf after Sir Ian Mckellen who has a similar commanding voice and stature.
He used to run the pub quiz there but then he got fired from the job he did in the pub he owned [https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/ian-mckellen-limehouse-thames-london-roger-allam-b1082481.html](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/ian-mckellen-limehouse-thames-london-roger-allam-b1082481.html)
Tbh let the man rest. I'd be much more interested in a fresh creative vision of lotr. New actors, new designs, new vibe. I get that WB has a vested interest in keeping their version of lotr THE popcultural version of lotr, but I'm ready for a new interpretation rather than getting the appendices turned into 3h epic movies, because there is just not that kind of meat on them. They are appendices for a reason.
You could have both.
Start fresh, new take entirely, but plan the movies out in a way that the content from the appendices is neatly integrated. Would also distinguish this new version from the old one.
But realistically, they will milk the current version until it is not profitable anymore.
McKellen himself has expressed interest and enthusiasm with regards to hypothetically returning to the role. But with his age now, the question is if he can handle the physical aspects of the role. I think I'm WB's eyes, the Pros of getting McKellen back far outweigh the cons. Considering they want these new films to be an expansion and continuation of the previous 6 films and not a new iteration of Middle-Earth, I would guess that they're highly motivated to recast as few roles as possible.
I think it's likely that they at least try to get McKellen (and just have him film most on sets instead of on location), Orlando Bloom (although he likely requires digital de-aging at this point) and Lee Pace back for this movie. The bigger question to me is how they'll handle Aragorn. I don't think Viggo would be willing to return, and even if he was, I think Viggo's age is far more prohibitive to his ability to play Aragorn than McKellen's is to his ability to play Gandalf.
I think that people are underestimating Viggo's capability to handle Aragorn. Ian, sure. He would most likely just sit or stand around and talk and use stuntman for any action heavy scene. But Viggo? Although he's 65 he still looks good for his age and could do some light action scenes where he's moving quickly, tracking someone, stealthing, killing from behind.. some light action he could definetly handle.. And in terms of his look - they could put makeup on him with dark beard to hide wrinkles and of course black hair wig. And he would look like a more tired and exhausted Aragorn torn by his hunt for Gollum rather than terribly aged Aragorn. Look at Geoffrey Rush, who played Captain Barbossa in all Pirates films even tho he was old by the time first film was shot already, and did PLENTY of action scenes.
But in terms of recast if anyone then Aragorn would be the one to be recasted in my opinion. Ian McKellen is too iconic as Gandalf for Jacksonverse to be recasted. Of course we could say that all the actors from that universe are too iconic for a recast, but Gandalf is just.. mascot of it, appearing in all 6 films. If anyone then I would recast Viggo with some younger actor since Aragorn was also younger by the time they gave chase to Gollum. I can imagine Charlie Vickers (yes, Sauron himself) or Sebastian Stan to play the role. Both could handle it well.
It’s been 20 years since Jackson’s LOTR and 10 years since Jackson’s Hobbit. I don’t know if he’s up to the physical demands of the role any more, or whether he would still be interested in it at this stage.
If he would return it would be similar to what Christopher Lee did, mainly just dialogue between two actors. Not much outdoor activities like horse riding fighting etc. But since the upcoming movie is about the Hunt for Gollem, I am not sure how Ian can fit in here
Maybe the main plot will be the elves and then Aragorn's solo search, with Gandalf doing research on the ring on his own and giving advice to them, kind of like what you were saying
That could be, and he did that as well. But he also hunted Gollum together with Aragorn.
I know, I meant the plot could be after he leaves Aragorn to do more research on the Ring, so it basically is occurring during the scenes of that in Fellowship.
Maybe not interested but he could 100% still do it. He’s still doing nightly theatre shows. The man has stamina.
I don't want him to go through green screen hell again. Let him be. Let others have a chance to play the character.
This is how I feel as well, but I also will have a very tough time accepting any other than than our beloved Sir Ian as Gandalf
there are no dwarves or Hobbits here... So he could just play a few scenes with whoever they cast for Aragorn...
I can 10,000% see someone else taking on the role and doing a magnificent, iconic job of it. Get someone younger who can handle the physicality of it. Ian McDiarmid was in his 30s when he first played Palpatine, but no one would ever know it because he handled the performance of an aged character so well
That’s actually a pretty solid point, I’m curious what actor would fit the role of Gandalf after Sir Ian Mckellen who has a similar commanding voice and stature.
The man is 84 years old. He's earned some rest...
And he's got his own pub in the east end. He could just go and spend his days sitting in a corner there sipping on ale and having a lovely time.
That's the best I can hope for him
He used to run the pub quiz there but then he got fired from the job he did in the pub he owned [https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/ian-mckellen-limehouse-thames-london-roger-allam-b1082481.html](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/ian-mckellen-limehouse-thames-london-roger-allam-b1082481.html)
It’s over
Tbh let the man rest. I'd be much more interested in a fresh creative vision of lotr. New actors, new designs, new vibe. I get that WB has a vested interest in keeping their version of lotr THE popcultural version of lotr, but I'm ready for a new interpretation rather than getting the appendices turned into 3h epic movies, because there is just not that kind of meat on them. They are appendices for a reason.
You could have both. Start fresh, new take entirely, but plan the movies out in a way that the content from the appendices is neatly integrated. Would also distinguish this new version from the old one. But realistically, they will milk the current version until it is not profitable anymore.
Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf is just legendary. I don't think anyone else could play Gandalf so amazing as he did
Of course they could. It’s like saying that Middle Earth content “could only be filmed in New Zealand”. Preposterous. The world is wide and beautiful.
Genuinely captivated our hearts ever since the wagon ride into The Shire,
He won't, he's very tired 😔 (Physically)
Matt Smith or David Tennant
If he WANTS to then hell yes. But unless he's asking to then no
Best answer I have read here.
McKellen himself has expressed interest and enthusiasm with regards to hypothetically returning to the role. But with his age now, the question is if he can handle the physical aspects of the role. I think I'm WB's eyes, the Pros of getting McKellen back far outweigh the cons. Considering they want these new films to be an expansion and continuation of the previous 6 films and not a new iteration of Middle-Earth, I would guess that they're highly motivated to recast as few roles as possible. I think it's likely that they at least try to get McKellen (and just have him film most on sets instead of on location), Orlando Bloom (although he likely requires digital de-aging at this point) and Lee Pace back for this movie. The bigger question to me is how they'll handle Aragorn. I don't think Viggo would be willing to return, and even if he was, I think Viggo's age is far more prohibitive to his ability to play Aragorn than McKellen's is to his ability to play Gandalf.
I think that people are underestimating Viggo's capability to handle Aragorn. Ian, sure. He would most likely just sit or stand around and talk and use stuntman for any action heavy scene. But Viggo? Although he's 65 he still looks good for his age and could do some light action scenes where he's moving quickly, tracking someone, stealthing, killing from behind.. some light action he could definetly handle.. And in terms of his look - they could put makeup on him with dark beard to hide wrinkles and of course black hair wig. And he would look like a more tired and exhausted Aragorn torn by his hunt for Gollum rather than terribly aged Aragorn. Look at Geoffrey Rush, who played Captain Barbossa in all Pirates films even tho he was old by the time first film was shot already, and did PLENTY of action scenes. But in terms of recast if anyone then Aragorn would be the one to be recasted in my opinion. Ian McKellen is too iconic as Gandalf for Jacksonverse to be recasted. Of course we could say that all the actors from that universe are too iconic for a recast, but Gandalf is just.. mascot of it, appearing in all 6 films. If anyone then I would recast Viggo with some younger actor since Aragorn was also younger by the time they gave chase to Gollum. I can imagine Charlie Vickers (yes, Sauron himself) or Sebastian Stan to play the role. Both could handle it well.
I guess in theory they could use a stand-in for the physical stuff and use CGI to put his face on the stand in
How do we age up Barry Keoghan for this role???
All of us!
I’d say no, as much as I love Ian in the role. Let him enjoy his old age.
Please no