Ian McKellen has revealed he has no plans to retire following an onstage accident earlier this year.
In June, the 85-year-old McKellen lost his footing and fell from the stage at the Noël Coward in the West End during a performance of Player Kings. He was rushed to a hospital and later confirmed he had fractured his wrist, with the actor not returning to the stage for the remaining dates of the play.
Last month, McKellen said he was still dealing with “agonising pain” following the accident.
However, speaking to the BBC, McKellen confirmed he had no plans to retire. “I shall just keep at it as long as the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working,” he said, but confirmed he would be taking the rest of 2024 off.
Elsewhere in the interview, McKellen revealed that if the character of Gandalf was set to appear in any future Lord Of The Rings films, he wanted to return to the role. “I’m not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it,” he said, having played Gandalf in both Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings films and the prequel Hobbit trilogy.
Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ CREDIT: Cinematic Collection/Alamy
A new film, The Hunt For Gollum, is due for release in 2026 with Andy Serkis set to direct and star in the new film. “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings shows no sign of abating,” McKellen told the Big Issue recently. “I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him.”
“When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick,” he added. Earlier this year, McKellen said he would consider playing Gandalf in the new film “if I’m alive”.
Viggo Mortensen has also weighed in on the possibility of returning to the franchise to reprise his role of Aragorn. “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. It would be silly to do it otherwise,” he said.
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