Ian McKellen's performance as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy still stand the test of time.
His effortless charm and charisma blended with Gandalf's natural warmth to bring to life one of literature's most beloved characters. For our money, it's one of the best-realised characters from novel to film.
Despite all this, however, McKellen says he's pretty much done with Gandalf now. In a recent interview with Larry King, the 76-year old actor said that Gandalf's days are over.
"I think I’ve had it with Gandalf. Though I love going to New Zealand where they film it all, and they were great times. But I had about 15 years of it," explained McKellen.
As he explained, there's pretty much no more material left for him to play. Except, of course, The Silmarillion, which is a sort-of prequel to both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Would Gandalf play a role in that? Not likely, to be honest. The Silmarillion, for those that don't know, tells the story of Middle-Earth's creation and the gods - known as The Valar - who war with each other. There's no real central narrative to it, it's more like an addendum or an encyclopedia for Tolkien diehards.
There's been talk of a Silmarillion movie for quite some time, but considering the nightmare Peter Jackson had on The Hobbit, it's highly unlikely that he'll be stepping back into that world again.
Via Larry King Now