Sir Ian McKellen, known for his roles as Magneto in the X-Men franchise and Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, fell off the stage during a performance of the Player Kings play in London. A fight scene was ongoing in the Noël Coward theater in West End, and McKellen lost his footing, causing the performance to be cancelled and the audience to be evacuated. He was rushed to the hospital, and his publicist has assured the public that the veteran actor is expected to make a “speedy and full recovery”. The performance scheduled for today has been cancelled so that McKellen can rest. Anyone affected by the cancellation will be notified by their point of purchase.
McKellen plays John Falstaff in Player Kings, a production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts I and II. It began its 12-week run in the West End in April and is expected to move through Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich, and Newcastle in July. According to his publicist, McKellen is in good spirits and is expected to recover quickly. The actor has a rich career in theatre, spanning over 50 years.
Despite his recent incident, Ian McKellen has shown interest in reprising his role as Gandalf in the upcoming Lord of the Rings spinoff. After his portrayal of the wizard in Peter Jackson’s original trilogy between 2001 to 2003, Warner Bros. has revealed they are working on various projects set in Middle Earth. It has yet to be determined which project McKellen will participate in, but the franchise will return to the big screen on theatergoers’ expecting date in 2026 with the first tentative title, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
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