A few years ago, there were a number of rumors that Ian McKellen would step into the role of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films - and as it turns out, they were only half wrong.

McKellen is now in final negotiations to play a Dumbledore, but not Albus - he will play Aberforth, Albus's brother, who has an important role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Since they're making two Deathly Hallows films, it's unclear whether Aberforth will appear in both or just the latter one. McKellen is also planning on returning to Gandalf in the planned two films based on The Hobbit, although its unclear whether the schedules will conflict; for his part, McKellen said today that he was "itching to play a new wizard for a change."

For more important details on this story, check out this Variety article.