Whenever a movie explodes into a cultural phenomenon, it’s only a matter of time before fans start digging into the alternate timelines. Who almost took that role. Who passed. Who said no and probably regrets it.
Few examples are as legendary as Sean Connery turning down Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. It’s one of those what-if casting stories that refuses to fade, and now Peter Jackson himself has explained why he’s ultimately glad things worked out the way they did.
Connery was offered the role of Gandalf before the trilogy went into production and famously didn’t connect with the material. At the time, the films were a massive gamble, and passing probably didn’t seem that wild.
Looking back, it’s one of the most talked-about casting decisions in movie history. During an interview with Empire celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson was asked how he feels about Connery turning it down all these years later.
Before getting serious, Jackson had a little fun imagining the alternate universe version of the wizard, slipping into Connery’s unmistakable accent and joking, “I am the wielder of a sccchecret fire.” Then he cut straight to the heart of it.
“Look, I’m only speculating, but I just can’t imagine Sean Connery being as supportive as Ian McKellen was, and being as willing to do whatever we wanted as Ian was, and being as tolerant as Ian was. And there were the tee times to consider.”
That willingness mattered. These films were physically brutal, technically demanding, and often experimental in ways big-budget productions rarely were at the time. Ian McKellen didn’t just play Gandalf. He embraced the process, the long shoots, the odd green-screen setups, and the emotional weight of anchoring the entire trilogy.
Jackson has praised him before, calling the actor, “You just like him. He’s a twinkly-eyed old rascal.” That warmth and playfulness became baked into Gandalf’s screen presence, and it’s hard to imagine the character feeling the same without it.
Connery wasn’t the only major name to step away from Middle-earth. Plenty of actors narrowly missed joining the franchise. Russell Crowe turned down Aragorn and instead rode straight into Gladiator. Uma Thurman passed on Éowyn due to pregnancy. Sam Neill declined an unspecified role because it conflicted with Jurassic Park III.
Adrien Brody has said he’s pretty sure he said no to playing one of the hobbits, and he realized the mistake the moment he sat in the theater watching the finished films.
Gandalf alone went through an impressive shortlist before landing with McKellen. David Bowie was considered but unavailable. Patrick Stewart confirmed he was approached but wanted a different role, and it didn’t line up.
Christopher Plummer later admitted he couldn’t even remember why he passed, though he became a fan of the films. McKellen has also said Anthony Hopkins turned it down. It’s a wild lineup of near-misses, and yet the final choice still feels untouchable.
While fans keep replaying the trilogy and appreciating how perfectly things fell into place, attention has started drifting back to Middle-earth’s future. Warner Bros. has officially greenlit The Hunt for Gollum, with Jackson producing and Andy Serkis directing.
Beyond that, details are slippery. Orlando Bloom has hinted he’s been contacted about returning. Liv Tyler has said she’d love to come back.
As for McKellen, he is set to return as Gandalf in The Hunt For Gollum, but the actor has recently cooled expectations. Asked directly about reprising the role, he said:
“I don’t think that has actually been decided. And certainly you can’t put it in your magazine as fact. Gandalf is in that movie, I think that’s not a secret. But there are still some things to be worked out.”
So for now, fans wait. Serkis has confirmed a December 2027 release date, which gives everyone plenty of time to revisit the original trilogy yet again. Connery or no Connery, The Lord of the Rings landed exactly where it needed to, and Gandalf remains one of those rare casting miracles where the right actor didn’t just play the role. He defined it.
