McKellen Updates His Hobbit Status

Sir Ian McKellen, currently in Australian appearing in the play Waiting for Godot, provided a quick update on his status of The Hobbit films and reprising his role as Gandalf to Whats Playing.

“That should have started [production] in April but they didn’t contact me about a contract until a few weeks ago and we’re in negotiation”, the actor, who’d be reprising his Lord of the Rings‘ role Gandalf for the film, said. “I shall see (director) Guillermo del Toro and (executive producer) Peter Jackson when I’m in New Zealand after we’ve been to Australia and well find out more then.”

Continues McKellen, “I’ve read the script, or as much as had been written, they sent it to me, which was very accomplished and good, I thought, and a wonderful part, Gandalf. But I don’t have a contract and I don’t have a start date, so there we are. We’re in a bit of limbo at the moment”.

The likely reason for the lack of a contract is due waiting on the sale of MGM. Once that is completed and the new owners sort the details out, the films can get the official greenlight which means a budget which means the means to pay out the contracts. Until then the films remain in a kind of limbo with completed scripts and most of the pre-production work getting completed "off the books" so to speak until the official word comes down.