Stephen Colbert has spent decades proving he’s the world’s biggest J.R.R. Tolkien nerd. He’s hosted Comic-Con panels for The Hobbit, appeared in The Desolation of Smaug as a Laketown spy, and made Lord of the Rings trivia a recurring bit on his late-night show. Now, with his Late Show tenure ending on May 21st, Colbert has revealed his next project: he’s writing an actual Lord of the Rings movie.
The announcement came via a video call with Peter Jackson, the Oscar-winning director who brought Middle-earth to life in the original trilogy. Colbert, looking slightly nervous but clearly thrilled, explained that he’s been working with Jackson and screenwriter Philippa Boyens for two years to develop The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, a film that adapts the chapters from The Fellowship of the Ring that never made it into Jackson’s 2001 adaptation.
“It turns out I’m going to be free starting this summer,” Colbert joked about his Late Show departure, before getting serious about his vision. “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 that y’all never developed into the first movie back in the day.”
Those chapters—”Three Is Company” through “Fog on the Barrow-downs”—include some of the most beloved material that fans have long mourned losing. The Old Forest, where the trees themselves are hostile. Tom Bombadil, the enigmatic nature spirit who rescues the hobbits and remains one of Tolkien’s most mysterious creations. The Barrow-downs, where the hobbits are trapped by undead Barrow-wights in an unnatural fog. These are the elements that book purists cite when complaining about the films, the moments that establish the depth and danger of Middle-earth beyond what was shown on screen.
But Colbert isn’t just remaking Fellowship with extra scenes. He’s crafted a framing device that makes this a sequel as well as an adaptation. The official logline reads: “Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”
This structure allows for the return of Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd as Sam, Merry, and Pippin, now older and retracing their youthful steps. It also introduces a new generation to Middle-earth through Elanor, Sam’s daughter, who represents the future of the Shire while investigating its past. Colbert worked out this framing device with his son, Peter McGee, a screenwriter in his own right, before pitching it to Jackson.
The collaboration represents a meeting of minds between two of Tolkien’s most devoted fans. Colbert brings his encyclopedic knowledge of the lore—he once stumped Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd with obscure trivia during a Late Show appearance—and his genuine passion for the material. Jackson brings the visual language and storytelling expertise that made the original trilogy a phenomenon. Boyens, who co-wrote the original films, provides continuity and institutional memory.
The question of whether Colbert can write a blockbuster screenplay is fair—he’s spent his career in comedy and political satire, not epic fantasy. But Boyens’ involvement suggests the script will be polished by someone who knows this world intimately. And Colbert’s passion is undeniable; this isn’t a cynical cash grab but a lifelong fan finally getting to play in his favorite sandbox.
Shadow of the Past will follow The Hunt for Gollum, Andy Serkis’s 2027 film, suggesting that Warner Bros. is building a new phase of Middle-earth cinema that balances nostalgia with new stories. For fans who felt betrayed by The Rings of Power’s loose adaptation, Colbert’s involvement offers reassurance that someone who actually cares about the text is in charge.
Plus, we might finally see Tom Bombadil on screen. After twenty years of waiting, that’s worth the price of admission alone.
Return to Middle-earth—see The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past when it hits theaters and witness Stephen Colbert’s lifelong dream finally come to life.
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