Stephen Colbert, the longtime host of ‘The Late Show’ which ends in May after 33 years, has announced that he will co-write a brand new Lord of the Rings film tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. The announcement was made by director Peter Jackson in a video on social media.
How did this happen?
The idea for the film is very personal. Stephen Colbert who is a longtime fan of JRR Tolkien said that he got the idea while re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. He focused on chapters three to eight which were not included in the original movies.
“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,” Colbert told Jackson.
“I thought, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies?” he added.
Colbert then worked on the idea with his son who is screenwriter Peter McGee. After that he gathered the courage to contact Peter Jackson.
“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. You liked it enough to talk to me about it… and I could not be happier that they[Warner Bros.] loved it,” Colbert said.
The Colbert will write the film along with McGee and Philippa Boyens, Jackson will produce it with Boyens and Fran Walsh.
Lord of the Rings: What we know about new film
The film is set 14 years after Frodo’s passing. It follows Sam, Merry and Pippin as they retrace their early journey. At the same time, Sam’s daughter Elanor uncovers “a long-buried secret that explains why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”
Colbert has made it clear that he wants the film to stay true to both the books and the movies.
“Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies?”
He says this balance is the most important part of the project.
Lord of the Rings: How are fans reacting?
LOTR fans have shared mixed reactions on X after the news about Stephen Colbert’s involvement in the new film.
Some fans are excited and confident about the project. One user wrote, “Stephen Colbert biggest LOTR fan after me this will not suck i think.”
Another said, “Stephen Colbert? Theres a high bar to reach and a big responsibility to do it right. He’s a talented man no doubt. I’m looking forward to this.”
However, not everyone is convinced. One post read, “In 3 minutes flat, Peter Jackson ruined his career, and JRR Tolkien is rolling in his grave…”
Another user wrote, “Okay. I am aware that Stephen Colbert has trashed his reputation and successfully become one of the most polarizing figures in America amongst news addicts. I am, however, not too worried about this. A lot of Hollywood people have TDS and serve as deep-state flunkies, but Colbert has nothing but two decades of well-demonstrated love and reverence for LOTR. A liberal Catholic working as part of a team is not going to bring about total disgrace to Tolkien and the positive legacy of the Jackson films. What I can’t decide is whether or not Warner should hide Colbert away or let him do media to try and win back some goodwill.”
Overall, reactions range from excitement to concern with many fans waiting to see how the project turns out.
