"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," McKellen, 68, said in a reply dated Wednesday.
Jackson reached a deal with New Line Cinema late last year to make two films of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster "Rings" trilogy. Jackson will serve as executive producer for the "The Hobbit" movies.
Another fan asked: "Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else" to play the ancient Wizard?"
McKellen replied: "Encouragingly, Peter and (partner) Fran Walsh have told me they couldn't imagine `The Hobbit' without their original Gandalf."
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New Line is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
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On the Net:
Ian McKellen: http://www.mckellen.com/
