Will Sir Ian McKellan Still Appear in The Hobbit?

Considering The Hobbit doesn't really have a studio or a director at this point -- though Brett Ratner is still available -- it does seem a bit silly that there are actually actors still attached to this thing -- a fact Sir Ian McKellan surely realized. Speaking with New Zealand's Good Morning, the acclaimed thespian -- who would appear as Gandolf the Grey in the Lord of the Rings two-part prequel -- pretty much threw cold water onto the heads of OneRing.net message board posters throughout Middle Earth.

Said the fully-bearded Sir Ian:

"Well, I'm not under contract. And my time is running out. I'm enjoying working in the theatre and, frankly, I would like to race after doing Waiting for Godot and get on with doing another play, but we'll have to see. I don't want to give the producers the impression that I'm sitting waiting."

Impression noted. But should fans keep waiting for The Hobbit to reach theaters? McKellan would only offer some vague platitudes:

"I've no news to give you, except that an announcement is imminent, and what it will be I genuinely don't know. It'll either be that we're going ahead, or that we're not."

And with that, he hopped on his horse and rode off towards The Shire. Watch the full interview -- with much more about the New Zealand production of Godot, theater nerds! -- below.

· 'Hobbit' Delays Could Cost the Production More Talent: Sir Ian McKellan [/Film]