Ian McKellen Is Sad Jackson Won't Be Directing "The Hobbit"

Filming "The Hobbit" just won't be the same without Peter Jackson as the director, and it seems like Ian McKellen feels the same way.

"The Lord Of The Rings" star recently said he's saddened by the news that Jackson won't be directing the upcoming LOTR prequel, after it was revealed that movie executives at New Line gave Jackson the boot.

McKellen says that working on the new movie, which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy book series, will be difficult without the Oscar-winning director.

According to ContactMusic.com, he said, "I'm very sad as I should have relished revisiting middle Earth with Peter again as team-leader. It's hard to imagine any other director matching his achievement in Tolkien country.

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