Speaking to Melbourne’s Play yesterday, Sir Ian McKellen - currently appearing in an Australian production of Waiting for Godot at the Comedy Theatre - says he had expected to start work on the first of the two Hobbit movies a few weeks ago.

“That should have started in April but they didn’t contact me about a contract until a few weeks ago and we’re in negotiation”, the actor, who’d be reprising his Lord of the Rings‘ role Gandalf for the film, said. “I shall see (director) Guillermo del Toro and (executive producer) Peter Jackson when I’m in New Zealand after we’ve been to Australia and well find out more then.”

Continues McKellen, “I’ve read the script, or as much as had been written, they sent it to me, which was very accomplished and good, I thought, and a wonderful part, Gandalf. But I don’t have a contract and I don’t have a start date, so there we are. We’re in a bit of limbo at the moment”.

The first of the Hobbit films is expected to be released in 2012, before then you’ll be able to hear McKellen as “the spoken voice on [the Scissor Sisters] new record that’s coming out in June”.