Stephen Colbert is set to co-write the next Lord of the Rings movie for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, following The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The new film is tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past and will adapt material from the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring that Peter Jackson’s original movies skipped, including the Barrow-downs and Tom Bombadil.
Peter Jackson and Stephen Colbert jointly announced the news in a video posted to social media. Watch below.
Stephen Colbert taking on Lord of the Rings
Colbert will write the film with Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee, while joining forces with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Boyens, the same creative team behind the blockbuster Lord of the Rings films.
Colbert has long been known as a major Tolkien fan, so the project looks like a dream gig for him, especially with The Late Show ending in May.
The movie will focus on the “Fog on the Barrow-downs” material from The Fellowship of the Ring, where the Hobbits are trapped by a Barrow-wight in a supernatural mist.
That story also opens the door for Tom Bombadil, a character fans have wanted to see in one of Jackson’s live-action Lord of the Rings movies for years.
What Shadow of the Past is about
Shadow of the Past is set 14 years after Frodo’s passing.
The story is said to follow Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they retrace the first steps of their original adventure, while Sam’s daughter Elanor uncovers a buried secret tied to how the War of the Ring was almost lost before it truly began.
The Hunt for Gollum comes first
Before Shadow of the Past hits theaters, the next movie up is The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Andy Serkis is directing and returning as Gollum, with the movie currently dated for December 17, 2027. Walsh, Boyens, Arty Papageorgiou, and Phoebe Gittins are writing that film. Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf, with Elijah Wood assumed back as Frodo. Kate Winslet is also starring.