Ian McKellen surprises the big-screen return of Gandalf and Frodo.

BarcelonaSir Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf the Grey in the film trilogyThe Lord of the Rings and the subsequent trilogy ofThe Hobbit, announced this Sunday that Gandalf will return to the cinema and will be part of the new film about the JRR Tolkien universe that Peter Jackson is producing: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which will star and be directed by Andy Serkis, the actor who played Gollum—using digital motion capture—in the previous films in the saga. But Gandalf won't be returning to Middle-earth alone; he'll be accompanied by Frodo Saquet, the bearer of the One Ring who played Elijah Wood in the film.

The announcement came during the event For the love of fantasy, a show aimed at fantasy fans held this weekend in London that hosted a meeting of a handful of actors fromThe Lord of the Rings, from McKellen to Elijah Wood via Sean Astin (Samseny Gamgí), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and John Rhys-Davies (Guimli).

At one point during the evening, McKellen took the microphone and stood up: "It seems there will be another film based on Middle-earth and it will start shooting in May. It will be directed by Gòllum, and it is about him," explained a character about the actor. "I'll tell you two secrets: Frodo and another character called Gandalfo." As the audience went wild, Elijah Wood looked at McKellen with a knowing smile.

McKellen's words are the first confirmation of the casting of The Hunt for Gollum since the official announcement of the project. Information about the return of the Tolkien universe to the cinema is still scarce, but it is known that Peter Jackson will serve as producer alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the original team of producers from the two previous trilogies. Walsh and Boyens are also in charge of the script, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. In parallel to The Hunt for Gollum There is another project underway related to The Lord of the Rings and produced by Jackson, of which nothing is known yet.

Andy Serkins' directorial resume is limited to biopic of 2017 Breathe, with Andrew Garfield, and the second installment of the superhero saga of Venom: There will be carnage, with Tom Hardy. It is planned that The Hunt for Gollum be filmed next year and hit theaters in December 2027. Last year a story set in the universe ofThe Lord of the Rings and produced by Peter Jackson: the animated film The Rohirrim War, directed by Kenji Kamiyama.