Stephen Colbert Writing ‘New Lord of The Rings’ Movie

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Stephen Colbert, who will soon be leaving The Late Show, has announced he’s writing a new Lord of the Rings movie for Warner Bros. While a return to the world of Middle-earth used to generate excitement, this news has left many fans worried.

I’ve been following Stephen Colbert for years, and I’ve noticed he’s really shifted from straight comedy to offering a lot of opinions on current events – sometimes pretty strong ones. Now that he’s tackling Tolkien, I’m really curious to see how much of his personal viewpoint will come through in how he interprets that world. It’s definitely on my mind as I anticipate the project!

Colbert Enters Middle-Earth

Warner Bros. announced The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past on social media Tuesday. The announcement included a video with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson providing an update on Andy Serkis’ The Hunt for Gollum. Some fans are questioning that project, as reports suggest it will only cover a small portion of the original story by Tolkien.

Jackson believes the script is shaping up nicely and anticipates the film will be excellent.

Following a hint about a new Lord of the Rings project and a collaboration with a significant partner, Jackson brought out Colbert. Colbert, who considers himself a Tolkien enthusiast, then explained how he planned to tackle the story.

Colbert explained to the filmmakers that he deeply appreciates both their books and films. However, he kept returning to the first six chapters of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ – specifically from ‘Three Is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ – which weren’t included in the first movie. He realized this section could stand alone as a story while still connecting to the overall narrative.

That idea appears to have taken root, and the late-night host continued to explore the concept.

A Question of Faithfulness

Colbert shared that he and his son, Peter McGee, who is a screenwriter, came up with the basic structure for their project, Shadows of the Past. For the past two years, they’ve been working with screenwriters Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson to write the script.

Fourteen years after Frodo’s journey ends, Sam, Merry, and Pippin revisit the places where their adventure first began. At the same time, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, uncovers an old secret that suggests the War of the Ring could have been lost much earlier than anyone realized, and she’s determined to find out what happened.

Colbert explained that his main challenge while working on the project was figuring out how to stay true to both the original books and the existing movie adaptations.

Even though he promised to be “completely faithful” on two occasions, and with Jackson and Boyens involved, criticism online continues to be strong.

Online Reaction

Chris Gore of Film Threat posted on X, “Hollywood has finally found the bottom of the barrel.“

Hollywood finally found the bottom of the barrel.

— Chris Gore (@ThatChrisGore) March 25, 2026

Valliant Renegade observed that with a change in leadership coming to Warner Bros., Paramount should act quickly to take advantage of the situation.

Paramount needs to step in, immediately.

— Valliant Renegade (@ValliantRenegad) March 25, 2026

It’s clear Stephen Colbert is a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings. However, being passionate about something doesn’t automatically make someone the right person for a project. If Warner Bros. decides to move forward with Colbert involved, they could be taking a big gamble. His participation is changing how many fans view a project they weren’t even sure they wanted in the first place.

Peter Jackson’s original films set a very high standard. Any new movie has the difficult job of both honoring that legacy and bringing a unique style that some fans might see as different from Tolkien’s original vision.

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2026-03-25 23:59