Stephen Colbert — a massive Lord of the Rings fan who can eloquently quote entire passages from the novels — has found his summer gig.
Colbert was tapped to develop the script for the second of two upcoming films in the blockbuster franchise, and will be working alongside his son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens on The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past (currently a working title). The installment will follow Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum, which is being directed by Gollum actor Andy Serkis.
A synopsis of Shadow of the Past sets the film 14 years after the passing of Frodo, and will follow Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they “set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure.” The teaser hints that “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.”
Warner Bros. unveiled the news on Tuesday night with a video announcement opening with director Peter Jackson, who adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03) and the Hobbit trilogy (2012-14). Jackson hinted at a “very special partner” who he will be working with after The Hunt for Gollum, before revealing his collaborator to be the Late Show host.
When joining on the video call, Colbert explained that Shadow of the Past would feature The Fellowship of the Ring chapters that weren’t included in Jackson’s 2001 film adaptation. “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,” Colbert said. “It’s basically the chapter ‘Three is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs.’ And then I thought, ‘Oh, 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 that you guys had already made?’”
Colbert said that after discussing the idea with his son Peter, who is also a screenwriter, they worked out a “framing device for that story.” While it took a few years for the late-night host to “scrape my courage into a pile” to give Jackson a call, he said that two years ago, the director liked it enough to discuss the adaptation. Since then, they’ve been working with Boyens to develop the script.
Although Colbert said that at first he was worried he wouldn’t be able to juggle the film’s demands with his hosting duties, “it turns out I’m going to be free starting this summer.” Last July, CBS announced that it will end The Late Show, which has been hosted by Colbert over the past decade, in May 2026.
“So if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish the television show and I’ve got to write a movie script, but I will see you all in the Shire,” Colbert addressed fans before hopping off the call.
