The Battle of the Five Armies: Ian McKellen thinks Hobbit director Peter Jackson will return to Middle Earth

The Gandalf actor does not believe it is 'the end of the journey' for Jackson

The final Hobbit film may be hitting cinemas next week, but lead star Sir Ian McKellen has hinted that it might not be “the end of the journey”.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review

The 75-year-old actor, who plays wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, spoke about Peter Jackson’s franchises at The Battle of the Five Armies premiere on Monday night.

“I was told by Peter in 2001 [after The Return of the King] that that was the end, that it was all over,” McKellen told the BBC. “Here we are 13 years later. So I don’t believe necessarily this is the end of the journey.”

Tolkien fans will know that The Silmarillion could provide material for future films with its pre-history of Middle Earth.

Jackson has spent years creating detailed sets, weapons and studios to make his movies as thrilling as possible, so leaving it all behind would likely be a wrench.

Earlier this year, Thorin Oakenshield actor Richard Armitage described Jackson as “the godfather of all our visions of Middle Earth”, telling The Independent that he does not believe the director will revisit Tolkien’s world again for cinema.

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit (Warner Bros)

But regardless of whether or not Jackson decides to return to Middle Earth, McKellen believes his legacy will last for a long time.

“The movies will go on being seen, people will come to them freshly for the first time…the thing goes on living,” he said.

“Maybe they endure because they’re not about evil just for evil’s sake, they’re not about frightening and exciting things just to thrill the audience.

“They’re actually about something important, about what it takes to be a good person.”