A WIZARD'S RETURN: NAVIGATING THE ENCHANTED JOURNEY BACK TO MIDDLE EARTH

When Ian McKellen announces that he yearns to put on the wizard’s robes once again, and come back as Gandalf to The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, the keenly anticipated animated movie reboot, we can all begin to feel the magical allure of J R R Tolkien’s world returning. After years of rumours about the possible animation, and months of speculation about McKellen’s possible return to the part, fans are again salivating over the thought of what could be. This article undertakes a similar quest, imagining the possibilities of a McKellen return, the many obstacles facing The Hunt for Gollum, and the continuing magic of Tolkien’s immense imaginary realm.

THE ETERNAL GUARDIAN: IAN MCKELLEN'S UNFINByISHED QUEST

It starts with Sir Ian McKellen, whose Gandalf has come to embody that most Tolkienian of traits: a blend of gravitas, stoicism, and beguiling, sly wiles that suggest a long-lived, enigmatic wisdom. McKellen hints that he might return, but even he – the very model of stoical Middle-earth pessimist – is vague: ‘no script, no offer, no plan’. But, with the unadorned caveat ‘If I’m alive,’ he’s summed up a journey at once hopeful, expectant, and inexorably, mercilessly attuned to time’s passage.

THE ANTICIPATION BUILDS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM

Set to join various other Tolkien adaptations that are in the works (or are rumoured to be in the works, in the hope that this trademarked expression will be eradicated in future), The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to appear on some screen or other no earlier than 2026. The prospect of returning to Middle Earth once again to tell forgotten stories of this ambivalent character is full of promise – and, I rather suspect, even some uncertainty. The Hunt for Gollum will enable us to plumb the dark depths of Gollum’s biography more deeply than we had been able during our exploration of The Two Towers. Ever pivoting back and forth between good and evil, Sméagol is transformed into Gollum At the heart of Tolkien’s tale lies a quest for redemption.

BRIDGING GENERATIONS: THE TIMELESSNESS OF TOLKIEN’S WORLD

This is more than just a possibility: that 63-year-old McKellen might return to the screen after decades, and that 52-year-old Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) might do the same, is a testament to the agelessness of Tolkien’s creation. Mortensen tells me that he didn’t take on The Hobbit because he didn’t want to get typecast, but he says about the role: ‘I’m two decades older now, so that’s a huge challenge. But this part had elements that were interesting at that [time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time) in my life and I felt like I could contribute. And of course the whole thing is an ensemble piece so you enjoy the other actors as a contributing factor as well.’ The strain of these journeys, on actors accustomed to playing the same part for a decade or more, is all about the connection between actor and part, a connection that is a blend of friendship and character. The actors had to have the fire of Mount Doom seared into their souls, and once that happens, you never stop carrying it. The memory of the journey won’t leave you, and fans will never forget who you are.

UNVEILING THE MYSTERY: DELVING INTO GOLLUM’S LORE

We can only hope that Peter Jackson’s announcement that The Hunt for Gollum will ‘take us to places we haven’t been before with some of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the movies’ is as fruitful as it’s meant to be. A fresh Gollum adventure may provide novel ways to understand Gollum, but it should also add layers to Tolkien’s conception of Middle Earth, its history and its forces of change.

THE QUEST CONTINUES: THE FANDOM’S ETERNAL FLAME

The contrast between the anticipation surrounding the new film and the tumultuous tale of the fan film of the same name (briefly removed from YouTube by Warner Bros) helps to underscore the huge cultural investment of the Lord of the Rings community. It serves to remind us that the story of the saga off-screen – the stories we tell about the saga – are living, thriving and constantly morphing within the hearts and minds of its global fellowship.

EMBRACING THE JOURNEY: THE ENDURING LEGACY OF MIDDLE EARTH

But this path to The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and the prospect of Ian McKellen as Gandalf is more than a movie saga; it is a reminder of how stories have the power to bring people together, inspire them, and envelope them with a bit of enchantment – all part of the journey as we navigate the unknowns and hopes that lead us to a place where the shadow of wizard’s staff leads the way.

JOURNEY: A PATH OF WONDER AND DISCOVERY

That was the journey represented by the wait for The Hunt for Gollum and the possibility of McKellen returning to the characters he helped to define; it is at the heart of the adventure that Tolkien’s work generates. In this case, that is among fans and generations of fiction consumers who found meaning in Middle Earth’s stories of coping with loneliness, grief, loss, love, and the search for belonging. In adventures of scriptwriting and casting, of ageing and the loss of loved ones, this was an adventure about finding the Rede, and trying to return.

In doing so, we’re offered the chance to once again walk in the woods of the Shire, traverse the terrifying blackness of Mirkwood, and climb the snow on the Misty Mountains tops. We’re presented with the opportunity to return to a place we know well even if we’ve never visited it, an encounter we might recognise even if we haven’t yet experienced it: to watch once more as familiar faces and landscapes speak to us from other worlds and other times. To discover more about beloved characters as new stories are told about them – and once more venture, the Hobbits might say, upon another ‘perilous journey’ into the heart of Middle Earth. In waiting for the new story of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, all we can do is allow ourselves to realise, with open heart and mind, where these adventures that Sir Ian McKellen and Tolkien have unleashed might take us.