Stephen Colbert to Write New Lord of the Rings Film: Shadows of the Past

Warner Bros. Pictures announced Tuesday that Stephen Colbert, former host of CBS’s The Late Show, will co-write a new film in The Lord of the Rings franchise, titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. The project will follow other planned expansions of the Tolkien universe, including Andy Serkis’s The Hunt for Gollum, slated for release in 2027.

The announcement came via a video posted on Warner Bros.’s social media accounts, featuring director Peter Jackson. Jackson described Serkis’s film as “looking amazing,” adding that the script was “coming together really well.” He then introduced Colbert as his “very special partner” for the subsequent film.

The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is set fourteen years after the events of The Return of the King, focusing on Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they revisit the locations of their initial journey. A parallel storyline will center on Sam’s daughter, Elanor, and her discovery of a secret concerning the origins of the War of the Ring, potentially revealing how close the conflict came to being lost before it began.

Colbert, a lifelong fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, revealed the film will draw heavily from chapters within The Fellowship of the Ring that were not included in Jackson’s original film adaptation. Specifically, the screenplay will adapt material from “Fogs on the Barrow-downs,” which introduces the character of Tom Bombadil and the sinister Barrow-wights. Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wights also appeared in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series.

The script will be a collaboration between Colbert, screenwriter Peter McGee (Colbert’s son, known for his work on “Outer Banks” and “The Righteous Gemstones”), and Philippa Boyens, a veteran of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Jackson and Fran Walsh will also be involved in the project. According to Colbert, the idea for the film originated from a discussion with his son about adapting the omitted chapters although remaining faithful to both the source material and Jackson’s existing film adaptations.

Colbert’s involvement in the franchise dates back to a cameo appearance in Jackson’s 2013 film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, alongside his wife and children. He is taking on the writing project shortly before concluding his run as host of The Late Show on May 21st.