The upcoming adaptation of the widely popular story of the "Lord of the Rings" (LOTR) is an anticipated television event. Amazon Studios has yet to cast its stars, but Sir Ian McKellan thinks the show might not need to look further for an actor who can play the wizard Gandalf.
McKellan was a recent guest on Graham Norton's show, and the topic of the LOTR TV series was brought up. As most fans are aware, McKellan played the character in the Oscar-winning film adaptations of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in 2001 to 2003, as well as in "The Hobbit" trilogy in 2012-2014.
Norton suggested that it must annoy McKellan to know there will be a new Gandalf for the TV show. But McKellan said he's still very much qualified to play Gandalf again since the character in the original classic book source from JRR Tolkien is 7,000 years old.
However, the actor also clarified that he hadn't been asked by the studio to reprise his role as Gandalf. But if Amazon were to go with former actors who've established the characters in the movie franchise, then McKellan is still very much qualified because he's "not too old" to play Gandalf.
In 2017, Amazon announced it would be developing five seasons of the LOTR TV series for its streaming platform Amazon Prime. Production is expected to begin this year with writers JD Payne, and Patrick McKay tapped to develop the stories and to serve as co-showrunners.
Payne and McKay have never headed a TV series before. But then again, the showrunners on "Game of Thrones" have also never managed a series before landing the high-profile project that became the most popular TV show in the world.
While Amazon has been secretive about the focus of the TV series, fans speculate the first season might involve the backstory of the half-human, half-elf character Aragorn, who was played by Viggo Mortensen in the movie trilogy. Known as the ranger Strider, Aragorn, was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. He helped Frodo succeed in his mission to defeat the dark lord Sauron. Ultimately, Aragorn became the King of the Reunited Kingdom.
The TV show will not do what has already been seen in the movies. Instead, it will cover other stories in the world Tolkien wrote since there's still a lot to pick from his literary works.
There are also reports that Peter Jackson, who directed the movie adaptations, may be consulting on the Amazon TV show. In an interview with Metro last December 2018, Jackson said that he's supposed to get scripts for the LOTR TV series so he can give his inputs.
