[_____V_____]

Director Guillermo del Toro recently revealed that Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen might return for The Hobbit, and now the actor himself has confirmed that he'll reprise his role as the wizard Gandalf for the prequel.

"Yes, it's true," McKellen informed Empire Online. "I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that [Lord of the Rings director] Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf."

The Oscar nominee also spoke about del Toro's plans to shoot not only The Hobbit, but also a second film inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. "Well I've read The Hobbit so I've got a good idea of what the story would be," the actor said.

McKellen continued, "But as to how it's going to work over two films and what's going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet – I can tell you it's going to be amazing though."

Del Toro will start writing the script for The Hobbit in the next six weeks.