Ian McKellen will reprise his role as Gandalf in Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit prequels.
The actor confirmed the role when he told Brit movie mag Empire that he "loved playing Gandalf" and "It's not a role you turn down." He went on to say that he was offered the part in the very room where Peter Jackson offered him the part for the first trilogy.
The Hobbit will be based on the original Tolkien book and is slated for release in 2010. The second Hobbit movie will be an original story covering the period between the Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.