By now, Stephen Colbert is off The Late Show and likely living large. I like to picture him sitting in plaid pajamas with a tea (yeah, he’s a tea guy) and maybe a real-life throwback newspaper, but I honestly have no idea if he’s even really been home yet given he was going straight to his brother’s wedding after the show wrapped on the 2026 TV schedule. One thing we did learn recently? Contrary to popular belief, The Lord of the Rings project actually came about before CBS decided to axe its late night series.
Yes, really. Colbert set the record straight in an interview as he was exiting the Eye Network. He told People a tidbit we did know about the project, which is that he’s writing it with his kid. However, he also mentioned this is something he’s actually been working on since Covid days.
I was working on [The Lord of the Rings] before the show was canceled. This has been years I've been thinking about it. I've been working on it with my son since COVID actually, and then working on it with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh for almost two years now. So that wasn't a post-show idea.
That’s kind of good news, I think? If he and his kid have been tinkering with a script for something like five or six years, I’d hope it’s much further along than I would have guessed based on Peter Jackson’s March announcement. The only thing that is giving me a small amount of pause is that it’s a lot of years to be working on one script.
Of course, the man was doing this while working a full time, and very demanding job on network television. If you needed further evidence of how demanding said job is, he was taking a break with a literal “sock over” his eyes before the night in question's show when his agent broke the cancellation news. He’s so tired in the office he had to nap before filming? Maybe things worked out for the best.
Those who have watched Stephen Colbert in any capacity have known he’s a giant Lord of the Rings fan for years. I think he was super curious to talk to Ian McKellen about not having read the LOTR books when he appeared on his show back in February. (McKellen has told several very funny stories previously on this topic.) The two were able to have a spirited chat about him landing the role and his elvish tattoo and more.
It’s felt like a nice way to close one chapter and open another, and it’s still super cool that Colbert got the idea in the first place from SNL alum Bill Hader. Hader went to write for South Park after wrapping on SNL and spent a year honing his writing skills there. LOTR is already near and dear to Colbert’s heart, and I think it’s a great fit, but I’m even more pleased this is something that’s been in the works for a while.
Hopefully that means it’s closer to fruition than we think. Hopefully.
