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Everything is fair game for a remake these days, even something as iconic as The Prisoner (TV). At least with their re-imagining, AMC is going all out, delivering a lush six-episode series starring Jim Caviezel as Six -- the prisoner role played by Patrick McGoohan in the classic old show he created -- and Ian McKellen as Two, the enigmatic leader of The Village, from which newcomer Six seeks to escape. AMC will air the six episodes over three nights starting on Nov. 15.
McKellen -- during a recent exclusive interview with PopStar -- told us that this new version of The Prisoner is most definitely not your grandpa's Prisoner. "The old one was about the preoccupations of the time and the idea of socialism, and it was Orwellian in a way," McKellen said. "I don't think there were any black faces in it. If you're going to tell that story in 2009, then it's got to be about our life now, and we have other preoccupations. And those are what the script deals with."
The actor was also impressed by his Prisoner co-stars, among them Jim Caviezel; Jamie Campbell Bower as Two's introverted son, 11-12; Hayley Atwell as Lucy, a woman from New York City who finds herself attracted to Two, and Ruth Wilson as 13, the Village's doctor. "Jamie is absolutely adorable," McKellen said. "He can be my son any day of the week. He is absolutely delightful and he looks ravishing on screen, as does Ruth Wilson. Hayley Atwell is fantastic as well. It's a very glamorous cast, actually, and Jim Caviezel is an excellent leading man."
Meanwhile, while McKellen will soon reprise his Lord of the Rings role as Gandalf in The Hobbit films, soon to go into production with Guillermo del Toro directing and Peter Jackson producing; it's looking less and less likely that he will ever again portray X-Men (2000) baddie Magneto. In recent months, the actor has said that he's getting too old for the role, but the real question is: Does he actually want to return to the screen as Magneto? "It would depend on the script and who is directing it, I think," McKellen said. "You never know. After I have done The Hobbit I may never want to see a camera again, you know? I'm not pining for Magneto."
