Gandalf legend Sir Ian McKellen says he has been snubbed by new Amazon Lord of the Rings reboot

HE found global fame playing wizard Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings movies – but Sir Ian McKellen is still waiting for the makers of the new TV series to call him.

The first eight-part run of Amazon’s The Rings Of Power is released on September 2 and visits Middle-earth thousands of years before the events in the films.

But as veteran actor Sir Ian points out during an interview with Amol Rajan on BBC2 tomorrow night, that doesn’t mean anything when you are ancient Gandalf – he of the giant white beard and tall, pointy hat.

He said: “I’ve been waiting for the call – and it hasn’t come.

“And there are going to be new shows from Tolkien under the title Lord Of The Rings, I think on television. But I gather that Gandalf won’t be a part of them, and if he is . . . well it’s the one part you can’t be too old for. I think he’s about 7,000 years old.”

Referring to the last Lord Of The Rings film, The Return Of The King, Sir Ian added: “That was 20 years ago, and what I want to do now is treat every job as if it’s the last I’ll ever do.”

Sir Ian, 82, revealed he is conscious of nearing the end of his life, with so many of his peers now passing away.

He said: “Death is a part of my life now. My friends are dying.

“They die, and then they’re over and here I am still.

“I’m not scared of death at all, no. There’s nothing to be scared of, is there?”

He also said that after decades of campaigning for human rights, in between acting roles, he has just one hope: “You must leave the world a better place.”

He’s achieved that and more.