Stephen Colbert doesn’t have to worry about his next gig after he signs off as host on CBS’s The Late Show on May 21. The late-night host will be embarking on what is arguably his dream project: adapting the next Lord of the Rings movie from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures.
The tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is set to be written by Colbert, Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee. The trio will join forces with the wizards behind the New Line franchise: Sir Peter Jackson, Dame Fran Walsh and Boyens.
Colbert revealed that the film will be based on “Fogs on the Barrow-downs,” the eighth chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, where Hobbits are trapped by a Barrow-wight in an unnatural fog. The story also includes a fan favorite character omitted from the previous films, Tom Bombadil.
Quite the surprise announcement this morning!
Gun to head, I would have said that after The Late Show, Colbert would move to podcasting or a streaming service, to continue a version of what he’s done (think: Conan O’Brien). Given how much a fan of the Middle-Earth books he is, however, this makes a LOT of sense, even if it’s a bit fancast-y in a way.
As a whole, I’m still unsure about how more Lord of the Rings films will go. Their continuation reeks of a corporate focus on maintaining franchises, and it’s a damn shame that we’re not really seeing much else from Peter Jackson, besides Beatles documentaries.
But, a leg up in all of this is having someone passionate and reverent towards the series, and Colbert is that, if nothing else.
We’ll see how this plays out.