We haven’t even seen Ian McKellen don his shiny red Magneto helmet in Avengers: Doomsday yet, and already he’s being prepped to reprise his other iconic role as Gandalf the Grey in the Lord of the Rings prequel that doesn’t have “The Hobbit” in the title: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The actor who has appeared in all six live-action Middle-Earth movies so far is back again, this time in the chapter that will follow the desperate search for the former owner of The One Ring before it got into the hands of Frodo Baggins.
The new video wasn’t a special reveal, but a message from the man himself to musician Troye Sivan, who asked McKellen to help narrate his new music video for the song “Party.” It just so happens that during this video, McKellen is looking incredibly grey, but in the way Lord of the Rings fans would fully endorse.
🚨 BREAKING: The first look at Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf on the set of “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” has been released. 🎬 pic.twitter.com/slCulgs2vSSeptember 17, 2026
The last time we saw McKellen pick up that huge hat and the pipe to match was in 2014 for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Now he’s back on the hunt for the creature that will unknowingly save Middle-Earth thanks to his own obsession.
Joining McKellen on this treasure hunt will be Elijah Wood reprising his role as Frodo, as well as Andy Serkis, who will be both directing and getting back into the motion-capture suit as Gollum. Lee Pace will also be returning and looking ridiculously cool as the Elf king, Thranduil.
As for the newcomers in this world obsessed with a bit of jewelry, Anya Taylor-Joy will be playing an elf named Seren, while Kate Winslet will star as Marigol, who is rumored to be related to Smeagol before he got lost to the presciousss. All eyes, flaming or otherwise, however, will be on Jamie Dornan, who will be stepping into the shoes of a mysterious ranger named Strider, who we know is secretly Aragorn and was played in the original trilogy by Viggo Mortensen. Joining him on the ride will be Leo Woodall as another ranger named Halvard.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum arrives in theaters on December 17, 2027. To get yourself hyped up, check out our ranking of the 32 greatest Lord of the Rings moments and look ahead to all the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.