- Stephen Colbert is writing a new Lord of the Rings film, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, a project Peter Jackson believes helped the comedian cope with the cancellation of his CBS late-night talk show.
- Colbert, a devoted JRR Tolkien fan who had a cameo in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, conceived the idea after re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring and identifying unused sections that could form a new narrative.
- He began developing the screenplay about a year ago with his son, Peter McGee, and later collaborated with Peter Jackson’s long-time associate, Philippa Boyens, even travelling to New Zealand for the project.
- The film will primarily focus on the “Fogs on the Barrow-downs” chapter and feature the character Tom Bombadil, who was absent from Jackson’s original trilogy, and is slated to follow Andy Serkis’s The Hunt for Gollum in 2027.
- CBS cancelled The Late Show in July 2025, citing financial reasons, shortly after Colbert publicly criticised Paramount's $16m settlement with Donald Trump, which he described as a 'big fat bribe' during Paramount's merger discussions.
IN FULL
