McKellen Has Read THE HOBBIT

The chaps over at Sci-Fi Wire have gotten their hands on a recent statement from actor Ian McKellen regarding the much anticipated THE HOBBIT, directed by the wonderful Guillermo Del Toro. McKellen has read the screenplay to THE HOBBIT and he had very little to say in terms of spoilers, other than that the script was penned just for him (as it should be) by producers (and LOTR aficionados) Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and of course Del Toro himself. Here is the rest of his report as told by Sci-Fi Wire:

“As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for THE HOBBIT] because they knew who they were writing him for,” McKellen told us exclusively in an interview last week while promoting AMC’s THE PRISONER. “There are a lot of characters in THE HOBBIT, including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”

He goes on to talk about the involvement of director Guillermo Del Toro, the newcomer to the LOTR crowd, and his communication with Jackson:

“They are the same person,” he said. “They were separated at birth. They’re twins. They have the same attitude. Neither likes working in Hollywood. They’re both fascinated by fantasy and violence on the screen, and gore, and things that frighten you. They like going into the psyche. They’re both brilliant storytellers in very much the same way. And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo’s strengths, as I’ve seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it’s all fine. And Peter will always be there.”

It sounds to me that things are moving very well in the right direction. If Gandalf is on board with the script, I don’t see how anyone can be against this project!

THE HOBBIT is set to hit theaters December of 2011.