Stephen Colbert called Peter Jackson with his Lord of the Rings idea before CBS decided to cancel The Late Show. Jackson confirmed that at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Putting to rest any idea that the project was a rushed pivot after the cancellation news.
Speaking to Variety at Cannes, where he was honored with a Palme d’Or on opening night. Jackson said he’d “never met anyone who knows more about Tolkien” than Colbert.
“He phoned me up a year ago — before he knew his show was going to finish — and said, ‘I don’t know if you’re interested, but I’ve got an idea for a Tolkien movie based on the books that I think would be really good,” Jackson told the publication.
Impressed by the pitch, Jackson connected Colbert with longtime collaborator Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. They worked together for a full year on a treatment. Colbert even traveled to New Zealand to be closer to the team.
Then CBS pulled the plug mid-process.
The Late Show of it All
While the writing was still underway, The Late Show was canceled, with its final episode set for May 21. A decision Jackson said wasn’t what the show or Colbert “deserved.” Still, he suggested that having a major project like this in Colbert’s hands could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
“I think Steven’s actually really happy — I think it helped him process [something that] what was rather shocking,” Jackson said. “So it was like, okay, one day he’s going to be a late night talk show host, and the next day he’s going to be a Tolkien scriptwriter.”
Jackson first announced the project via video in late March. Colbert’s new installment will follow Andy Serkis‘ The Hunt for Gollum. It currently carries the working title The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past. The film is written by Colbert, his son Peter McGee, and Philippa Boyens. The story is set fourteen years after the passing of Frodo. It follows Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter Elanor uncovers a buried secret about how the War of the Ring nearly failed before it began.
Colbert has said the film will draw from Fog on the Barrow-downs and surrounding chapters in The Fellowship of the Ring, early sections of the original trilogy never adapted.
CBS decided last year to cancel the highly rated program, citing financial pressure. At the time of cancellation, The Late Show was averaging more than 2.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched late-night show on television.
More Lord of The Rings to Come
This marks Colbert’s first foray into blockbuster development, though not his first time working with Jackson. He had a small role in 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He later directed Jackson alongside Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood in the 2019 short film Darrylgorn, which is set in Middle-earth.
The Hunt for Gollum is set to hit theaters in December 2027, with Shadows of the Past expected to follow. No release window for the Colbert-written film has been announced yet.
