Source: Empire

Two-time Oscar-nominee Ian McKellen recently spoke about his anticipation towards returning as Gandalf in director Guillmero Del Toro's two-part film of The Hobbit.

“The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon. Then they'll be budgeted, and then they'll be cast. And they'll be going when they've always said they would be, which is next spring – March or April," said the actor. "Guillermo even told me at one point, 'We're going to film for 383 days.'" When asked about other returning cast members, he replied, "Unfortunately, there won’t be many of the actors going back...Andy Serkis is, at the moment, I think, the only other actor who’s doing this film.” Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are co-writing the script with Del Toro, and all four will serve as producers on the film.

He also spoke briefly about his limited knowledge of X-Men Origins: Magneto, which has been in development at Fox for several years: “I've not read it, so I suspect it wouldn't involve me. I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can't have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!”

The Hobbit was announced some time ago, but has been held up by several lawsuits, including Jackson's own claim about inaccurate bookkeeping on the first Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring. The last lawsuit, between the Tolkien Trust and New Line Cinema, was recently resolved, and despite shaky financial situations at MGM (who own the rights to "The Hobbit"), they are hoping to get a script by November and ultimately shoot for a 2011 release date. The film will be co-produced by Warner Bros., who absorbed New Line in 2008.