How devastating would it have been if Sir Ian McKellan had quit ‘The Hobbit?’ He almost did!
McKellan has revealed that he almost left the film franchise after the project took more than five years to develop.
Back in 2008, Guillermo del Toro signed on to take charge of the film, but had to quit himself due to production delays after MGM fell into financial trouble.
Peter Jackson then took over after the company emerged from bankruptcy, however that was during the actors union dispute, and a health crisis for Jackson. These incidents lead to even more postponements for the film.
Just a little under a month away from the release of the first ‘Hobbit’ film, McKellan told Readers Digest that he thought twice about walking away from the film.
He reveals, “I thought more than twice about it. It begins to wear you down. You think, do I really want to do this? (A friend of mine) said, ‘Look, Ian, all the fans of Lord of the Rings want The Hobbit to be made, and they want you in it.’ I thought, Yes, I’ve a responsibility beyond my own pleasure.”
“So I had to clear 18 months (from my schedule). And at my age 18 months is quite a long time.”
The film franchise would not be the same without him, so everyone should be happy he toughed it out!
Thank you Ian!
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