Movie News

Willie Nelson Vies For Gandalf (And Magneto)

Posted by on April 30, 2013 at 9:53 am

This Hobbit audition tape was leaked to TeamCoco.com (you can follow them on Twitter @TeamCoco).

Before the leak, there were only rumors that Peter Jackson had considered country music legend Willie Nelson for the role of Gandalf. He decided to go in a different direction, recasting Ian McKellen in the role he played in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The audition tape came out just in time for Willie Nelson’s eightieth birthday. Ian McKellen, who obviously bears no ill will, sent out this tweet:

Do you think Peter Jackson went in the right direction? Is there another role in The Hobbit that you would choose for Willie Nelson?

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Author: Lily’s first experience with Tolkien was when the eccentric Mrs. H performed all of the characters from The Hobbit in her seventh grade class. In high school, she felt obliged to decline a second date with a boy who said he had no interest in reading The Lord of the Rings. In college, she unwisely decided to reread her beloved copy of The Hobbit during finals week, with only semi-disastrous results. When not writing for Middle-earth News, Lily tries not to unnerve her coworkers and family with her extreme geekery, but somehow, Star Wars, Star Trek, Sherlock, Merlin, Doctor Who, The Princess Bride, Back to the Future, superheroes, Disney movies, and of course, Tolkien, seem to have relevance in EVERY conversation.

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