McKellen ready to don Gandalf's robes for The Hobbit

British actor Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has told fans he's waiting for the call about The Hobbit.

In response to a fan query on his website, McKellen said he very much hopes to play the great wizard.

"Yes, I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it — he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor," McKellen replied in comments dated Wednesday.

Peter Jackson, director of the Rings trilogy, has a deal with New Line Cinema to produce two films of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

"Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh (Jackson's director partner) have told me they couldn't imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf," McKellen said on his website.

"Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro, but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!" he added.

Del Toro, who directed Pan's Labyrinth, is believed to be the favourite to helm The Hobbit, but has yet to be officially named.

The two films, likely to be shot simultaneously in New Zealand, have a combined budget of $150 million US.

The action in The Hobbit, about the finding of a mystical ring, takes place before the time of Lord of the Rings.

The films are scheduled to be released in 2010 and 2011.