Stephen Colbert, whose love for the work of the late J.R.R. Tolkien is well-documented, has been tapped to help bring to life a new entry in the Lord of the Rings film franchise.
On the evening of Tuesday (March 25), the Late Show host joined Peter Jackson to make the announcement, fittingly against a backdrop of various Tolkien memorabilia.
“I’m pretty happy about it,” Colbert, whose Late Show run comes to a close next month, said. “Shall I tell people what the story is? I will as much as I can. You know what the books mean to me and what your films mean to me. But the thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in [The Fellowship of the Ring] that y'all never developed into the first movie back in the day. It's basically ‘Three is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-downs.’ And I thought, oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story.”
Colbert went on to note that the intention was to build something “completely faithful” to Tolkien’s books and Jackson’s films, a goal that led to him “talking it over” with his son Peter, a screenwriter.
“it took me a few years to scrape my courage into a pile to give you a call. But about two years ago, I did,” Colbert said, adding that the idea was brought to New Line and Warner Brothers, who expressed their support for the idea.
Naturally, Jackson and Colbert couldn’t help but tuck in a joking reference to the widely questioned Late Show cancelation. As Colbert explained, he didn’t initially believe he would have the time to handle both the show and LOTR writing duties.
“But it turns out I’m gonna be free starting this summer. … Isn’t that a eucatastrophe right there?” Colbert said, using a term that should be familiar to fellow Tolkien fans.
“I will see you all in the Shire,” Colbert added.
In the announcement, Colbert also mentioned working with Philippa Boyens, describing her as “brilliant.” A report from Deadline notes that Colbert will write the film, potentially titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, alongside Boyens and Peter McGee.
Complex has reached out to Warner reps for comment. This story may be updated.
Shadow of the Past isn’t the only new LOTR film on the horizon. In 2024, Warner and New Line announced that The Hunt for Gollum, directed by and starring familiar franchise presence Andy Serkis, was in the works. In Tuesday’s Colbert announcement, Jackson provided a quick update on that film, which is set for a 2027 theatrical release.
