Stephen Colbert Writing New 'The Lord of the Rings' Film

March 25, 2026, 1:12 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

The stories of Hobbits, Elves, and Gollum continue. After six highly successful and, in part, groundbreaking films, Amazon took the reins with the streaming series “The Rings of Power.” But soon, the saga will continue in theaters. A new film is already in the works. Filmmaker Peter Jackson has announced a new “The Lord of the Rings” film penned by Stephen Colbert.

Stephen Colbert Writes “The Lord of the Rings” Film

On the official X channel of the Warner Bros. film studio, Jackson, director of six “The Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, made the big announcement. The filmmaker introduced well-known U.S. talk show host Stephen Colbert as his “special partner” to advance another film in the popular franchise.

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Colbert is considered a big fan of Tolkien’s fantasy material. He is working as a screenwriter for the new project alongside his son, Peter McGee. Both have been collaborating with Philippa Boyens on the script for two years. Boyens has extensive experience with Tolkien’s works, having contributed to the “The Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films. Peter Jackson is likely to push the new film forward as a producer.

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Unfilmed Chapters in Focus

The new film already has the title “The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past.” It will focus on chapters from “The Fellowship of the Ring” that didn’t make it into the 2001 film adaptation. The core will be chapters 3 (“Three is Company”) to chapter 8 (“Fog on the Barrow-Downs”).

Upon rereading, Colbert thought these chapters could tell their own story while still fitting into the larger narrative of “The Lord of the Rings.” “Could we create something that remains completely faithful to the books and also fully honors the films you’ve already made?” Colbert asked.

What the New “The Lord of the Rings” by Colbert Will Be About

An initial official synopsis is already available: “Fourteen years after Frodo’s departure, Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter Elanor has discovered a long-hidden secret and is determined to find out why the War of the Ring was nearly lost before it even began.”

This is not the first time “The Lord of the Rings” and Stephen Colbert have intersected in film form. The host had a small role in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and directed a “The Lord of the Rings” short film with the stars of the theatrical films.

When “The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past” will be released is currently unknown. Before that, “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” directed by Andy Serkis will be released. The German theatrical release is currently set for December 16, 2027. Peter Jackson also gave a brief update on this, saying the project looks great, the script is solid, and he thinks it will be a really good film.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.