The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey type Movie

Ian McKellen has spent fifteen years playing Gandalf the Grey (and then the White) – one of the major character links between the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit. Today, he filmed his last scenes in the role.

Peter Jackson, the director of all 6 of the Tolkien film adaptations, posted a photo with McKellen on his official Facebook page with this caption:

“Seconds ago we finished our last shot with Gandalf. The end of an incredible adventure that began in 1999. I’m feeling very sad right now.”

Comments on the photo have pointed out more opportunities for McKellen to reprise his role, under Jackson’s direction, but the director has expressed his determination to be finished with Tolkien after the Hobbit trilogy. However, there was a time when he had us all convinced he would not return after The Return of the King.

The second Hobbit movie in the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, opens December 14. The final film, There and Back Again, opens December 13, 2014.

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