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Alasdair Stuart makes a brief detour to Middle-earth…

A little while back, slightly accidentally, Sir Ian McKellen confirmed that Gandalf the Grey would be appearing in The Hunt for Gollum, the upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel. Now, it seems, he may not be alone. Talking to The Times last weekend, Elijah Wood said: “It hasn’t been officially announced, but at a convention last August, Ian sort of let the cat out of the bag,” he says, referring to actor Ian McKellen confirming his own return as Gandalf the Gray. “So there is a good chance. I’m not able to officially say anything until it’s announced, but I will say I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film. It’s always a little nerve-racking when people talk about new movies for a world like Middle-earth. Everyone gets a little protective and hopes it retains its level of integrity, but this story is fun, thrilling. There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together. I’m just excited.”

I have so much time for Wood and the fact that he’s able to basically flat out say ‘Yeah I’m coming back and probably a lot of us are too’ at the same time as being obfuscatory is a masterpiece of linguistic gymnastics. At the very least he’s read the script and why would he have read the script if they weren’t at least talking to him? And just in case there’s any doubt, this was his answer when it was mentioned that McKellen doesn’t want anyone else playing the role:

“I totally get that. I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able. And I can also recognize what fun that is going to be – when you are in the cinema and you see the hat turn around and it’s Gandalf. Because I’m also a fan, and excited to see how it all comes together.”

Oh he’s so back.

The Hunt for Gollum is set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, with Aragorn and Gandalf on a quest to find Gollum. There’s a rumour Leo Woodall has been cast as Aragorn but given how much of a Moment he’s having (White Lotus is massive and the upcoming Tuner looks very good) that may be chaff. Andy Serkis is directing, Peter Jackson, Fran Walash and Philippa Boyens are producing and Boyens, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou are writing. There’s also rumours this will turn into another trilogy, but just rumours. I guess it all depends on how long the hunt takes. It begins next year.