Sir Ian McKellen has been talking about reprising the role of Gandalf for the upcoming Hobbit films.

The British actor was at Comic-Con with fellow Hobbit actors Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis this week.

He told reporters that getting back into it, 13 years after he first started shooting Lord of the Rings was like "going home."

"It was fairly pleasant once we put all the makeup on and thank goodness I seemed to look the same," he said.

"It was lovely to be back in New Zealand with the people who make the films, many of whom were on Lord of the Rings."

The first movie in the two-film franchise, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, hits cinemas on December 14.