Lord of the Rings was a very ground-breaking movie in 2001, the year it got released. The movie won the Best Picture award, as well as $1 billion in revenue at the worldwide box office. Apart from that, many of the movie's actor went on to get Oscars for their performances in the movie - the cast received a total of 11 Oscars. In what can be described as excellent news, Sir Ian McKellen, known for his role as Gandalf, has confirmed that he would like to participate in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show.
In what can be described as one of the best pieces of news Lord of the Rings fans can hear, Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed that if given the chance - he would love to play as Gandalf again in the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show.
Amazon, who is investing millions of dollars in producing their own content for their streaming service, has confirmed that they are planning to adopt the Tolkien classics for an epic TV show. The confirmation came last month, in November.
The news regarding his role as Gandalf, came while Ian was giving an interview to Graham Norton's BB2 Radio 2 talk show earlier in the day. At first, when he was asked this difficult question, he was taken aback, but then gave his final answer.
Since the original Gandalf from the books is over 7,000 years old, the actor said that he isn't too old for the role. At the same time, Ian said that he still hasn't been officially asked by Amazon or any member of the production crew regarding his role.
Sir Ian's answer complete answer to the reporter's question was "What do you mean, another Gandalf? I haven't said yes because I haven't been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7000 years old, so I'm not too old."
According to Amazon's Sharon Tal Yguado (the company's head of scripted programming), they are honored to be working with Tolkien's Estate and Trust on this new type show. Given the movie's success, it is understandable why they are happy.
The full answer Sharon Tal Yguado gave to reporters is "We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth."
At this point, basically, the confirmation by Amazon couldn't be any more concrete. They said that they are going to be taking fans on a new epic journey through the world of Middle Earth. Middle Earth is the location where most of the movie's plot was going on.
Given how expensive the TV show is likely to be, it is no wonder that Amazon's CEO and founder, Jeff Bezos, is personally involved in the show's creation and production. Hopefully, he is going to read Ian's interview and invite him on as Gandalf.
While Amazon creates a record amount of new content every year, its CEO (who was for a brief time the world's richest man - surpassing even Bill Gates) is not usually involved in the day-to-day movie and TV show production at the company.
Sir Ian is an actor with a lot of experience under his belt. Before he became a household name with his role as the old and wise wizard Gandalf, he was a very successful British theater actor. After his role as Gandalf, he even starred as Magneto in the X-Men franchise.
This is a rare photo that shows Ian McKellen before he was knighted and a famous Hollywood actor. In this photo, he is playing as Richard II, in the Piccadilly Theater in London. The photo was taken several decades ago, in the distant in 1970.
What may not surprise fans that have read the original trilogy by Tolkien, is that the TV show is going to set before the first Lord of the Rings movie - the Fellowship of the Ring. The show is going to explore the backstories of different characters featured in the movie.
Amazon's deal for this TV show also includes the possibility for the production and release of a spin-off series. That means that if this TV show is successful (and chances are it is going to be), there could be Lord of the Rings-based TV shows for many years to come.
The original Lord of the Rings Movie was so ground-breaking in the year that it was released, that it even won the Best Picture Award. Apart from that, the movie also won 11 Oscars and netted over $1 billion in revenue at the worldwide box office.
