Sir Ian McKellen, the renowned actor, entertained a crowd of 2,000 film enthusiasts at an open-air cinema in Rome on Sunday night by showcasing advance footage from the upcoming superhero film Avengers: Doomsday.
McKellen's Anecdotes from the Set
Speaking at the Cinema in Piazza festival, McKellen revealed a humorous moment during filming. He said, "They got me at one point to destroy New Jersey." Re-enacting the scene, he added that directors Anthony and Joe Russo instructed him to "look more furious: make it look as if you hate what you're destroying. So I stood there and I shouted: 'Mar-a-Lago!'"
The film, set for release in December, marks the return of McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart as their X-Men characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the MCU's 39th feature and serves as a sequel to the 2019 hit Avengers: Endgame, which grossed $2.8 billion.
Personal Reflections and Career Highlights
McKellen, 87, also introduced his favorite film, Jacques Tati's 1953 comedy Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, which he first watched at age 14 with a friend. He described the friend as "more than a friend, really. I was in love with him. We held hands through the whole film."
He praised the character Hulot as "every bit as powerful as Chaplin's Tramp, or Buster Keaton or Roberto Benigni. He's the inspiration for Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean." McKellen noted that watching the film under the stars was "a perfect way to watch this particular film."
McKellen is experiencing a career resurgence after recovering from a stage injury in 2024. This year, he starred in Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers to critical acclaim, participated in an innovative video stage installation in New York, and opened a new performing arts center in County Durham. He also joined a march against the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people in Commonwealth countries and unveiled an English Heritage blue plaque at Sir Laurence Olivier's former London home.
Upcoming Role as Gandalf
McKellen revealed he will soon head to New Zealand to reprise his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Andy Serkis. He described the film as "going to tell a story that I don't think Tolkien wrote."
McKellen's appearance was part of the Cinema in Piazza festival, a free series of open-air screenings and Q&As organized by the Piccolo America Foundation, founded by young activists who occupied an abandoned cinema in 2012 to combat gentrification. Other stars scheduled for the festival include Edgar Wright and Léa Seydoux.
