How Ian McKellan's Gandalf And Elijah Wood's Frodo Can Reunite In Lord Of The Rings' New Movie

Peter Jackson's live-action vision of Middle-earth will expand further with The Lord of the Rings' next cinematic release, The Hunt for Gollum. Likely taking place near the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, a few familiar faces are expected to appear alongside Andy Serkis' mo-cap ring-botherer. Ian McKellen's Gandalf is confirmed, Aragorn is widely expected, and Sauron is plausible.

According to McKellen himself, another returnee will be the one and only Frodo Baggins. Whether or not Elijah Wood will re-accept the ring-bearer role remains unclear, but the actor has, in the past, spoken positively about a Middle-earth comeback, and would still make a believable Frodo, even 25 years later.

Needless to say, Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood appearing onscreen in another The Lord of the Rings movie would be a very big deal. Is there a way The Hunt for Gollum's story could make it happen?

Gandalf & Frodo Can Reunite In The Shire During The Hunt For Gollum

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings timeline is kind in terms of allowing further onscreen meetings between Frodo and Gandalf. The earliest The Hunt for Gollum's main plot could begin is in the aftermath of The Hobbit and the White Council evicting Sauron from Dol Guldur. At this point, Gandalf grows increasingly concerned over the whereabouts of the One Ring and becomes a regular visitor to Bag End.

Since Gandalf canonically makes an unspecified number of trips to the Shire around this time, The Hunt for Gollum has plenty of opportunities to show Gandalf and Frodo together, with the wizard becoming more suspicious of Uncle Bilbo's magic ring each time he enjoys some Baggins hospitality.

With Ian Holm sadly passing away in 2020, it's unlikely we'll see Bilbo. A recast is always possible, but largely unnecessary here, as The Hunt for Gollum could simply show Gandalf and Frodo conversing while Bilbo is occupied elsewhere. Only if Frodo ends up having a large presence in The Hunt for Gollum, meeting Gandalf at Bag End on multiple occasions, will Bilbo's absence start to feel odd.

Gandalf & Frodo's Scenes In The Hunt For Gollum Could Run Parallel To The Fellowship Of The Ring

There is another (more complicated) way Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood could reunite in The Hunt for Gollum. During Peter Jackson's 2001 version of The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo departs the Shire after his birthday party and the One Ring falls to Frodo. Gandalf leaves to investigate the Ring, then goes back to the Shire, tosses the Ring into Bag End's fire, and tells Frodo he must leave at once.

Within the context of the movie, these events appear to happen relatively close together - within the span of a few weeks or months. In the books, however, 17 years pass between Bilbo's birthday and Gandalf revealing the inscription on the Ring.

The Hunt for Gollum could exploit that nook of canon by having Gandalf visit Frodo during the 17-year gap, perhaps checking that Bilbo's nephew hadn't been using the Ring to pretend no one was home whenever the Sackville-Bagginses called. Such scenes could dig deeper into the development of Gandalf's suspicions and why he didn't realize Bilbo's Ring was the Ring sooner. And, of course, Bilbo would have already left the Shire by this time.

The drawback is that squeezing extra scenes into the timeline of The Fellowship of the Ring's opening act would fundamentally change how we watch the movie. The change would be more in-keeping with The Lord of the Rings' lore, admittedly, but The Hunt for Gollum reframing a beloved movie like The Fellowship of the Ring won't necessarily win the hearts of the audience.