Gandalf as Dumbledore...
December 27, 2002 at 2:41 AM ET
TheSnitch.co.uk
New Potter wizard is... Gandalf!
THE actor who plays Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings has landed another wizard role in the next Harry Potter film.
SIR IAN McKELLEN, whose latest Lord Of The Rings film The Two Towers is top of the movie charts, is set to take over from the late RICHARD HARRIS as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter.
The shock casting may put the actor up against himself in both fantasy adventure box office rivals.
The news that Sir Ian is taking over the role of Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore from Harris, who died in October, has come as a bombshell to senior cast and crew members.
It follows the bitter competition between the two blockbuster movie series.
Magic ... Richard Harris as Harry Potter's idol Dumbledore
One cast member told me Sir Ian accepted the part of Dumbledore last week but an official announcement will not be made by filmmaker Warners until next year.
A source on the movie set told me: "Everyone has been sworn to secrecy about Ian McKellen getting the role of Dumbledore.
"One of the production staff let it slip and now its spreading like wild fire.
"He got the part just before Christmas but Warners wont announce it until the New Year.
"Bosses thought he was the perfect replacement for Richard Harris and, as we all know, hes more than capable of playing the part of a wizard.
"Theyre not worried about people getting Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings confused. Theyre two very different films."
Filming of Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban starts in February and is due out in 2004.
The first Harry Potter film, The Philosophers Stone, premiered in November 2001, just weeks before The Fellowship Of The Ring.
The Philosophers Stone, inspired by JK Rowlings book, has taken £620million at the box office so far compared with £534million for The Fellowship Of The Ring.
The rivalry continued when the second Harry Potter film, The Chamber Of Secrets, was released just ahead of The Two Towers recently.
The final film of the series, The Return Of The King, will come out next Christmas.
Sir Ians appointment comes after the favourite to land the role, Dracula actor CHRISTOPHER LEE, ruled himself out.
Lee, who stars opposite Sir Ian in The Lord Of The Rings as the evil wizard Saruman, is about to start work on the next Star Wars adventure in which he plays the ruthless Count Dooku.
He is also being linked to another fantasy epic, The Last Unicorn, which starts shooting in the spring.
Another possible candidate included Harriss double in the first two films, unknown HARRY ROBERTSON.
It was also thought producers would use some wizardry of their own - of the computer kind - to bring Harris back from beyond the grave.
But just before Christmas, boffins realised they did not have enough unused footage and decided they needed a replacement actor.
Hellraiser Harris died after a long battle with cancer.
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well it DOES make more sense than having Christopher play him...
..::aggie::..
