Gandalf but…female? One Lord of the Rings actress asks ‘why not?’ (Picture: New Line/Kobal/REX)

The Lord of the Rings prequel at Amazon Prime is being touted as the next Game of Thrones – and one suggestion from a former Middle-Earth actress could see one of its most beloved and iconic characters changed forever.

Robyn Malcom – who played a Rohirrim woman in The Two Towers – has lobbied the series’ makers to introduce a female Gandalf (played in the original trilogy and Hobbit trilogy by Sir Ian McKellan).

‘Those old legends, those old mythical stories, they’re so based within a patriarchal landscape,’ she told Stuff. ‘Why not look at the magic of a matrilineal world, where the magical powerhouses are women?’



Malcolm’s top picks for the female version of the resurrected wizard include some of the most iconic actresses of their generation.


‘If you need a big star and somebody that everybody knows and everybody already thinks of in Ian McKellen terms,’ she said. ‘Then of course you go to Dame Judi or Eileen Atkins or Maggie Smith.’

And if you think Malcolm was concerned about the backlash of hardcore fans of JRR Tolkein’s original work… well, you would be wrong, pointing out that Lord of the Rings is, first and foremost, a work of fantasy.

Amazn’s Lord of the Rings prequel series will start filming soon (Picture: New Line Cinema)

‘We’ve had female Hamlets,’ the actress pointed out. ‘Why not?’

Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings prequel series is already picking up steam – adding writers from Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad and also confirming a pretty important filming location.

Here’s everything we know so far about Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings prequel series.

The Lord of the Rings prequel series will commence production in the coming months.

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