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Stephen Colbert pitched 'Lord of the Rings' before talk-show cancellation
14 May 2026

Acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson recently opened up about his collaboration with Stephen Colbert on a new Lord of the Rings movie.

Speaking to Variety at the Cannes Film Festival, Jackson revealed, "He phoned me up a year ago, before he knew his show was going to finish, and said, '...I've got an idea for a Tolkien movie based on the books that I think would be really good.'"

Colbert, Philippa Boyens developed treatment together
Collaboration details

Jackson was so impressed with Colbert's idea that he introduced him to Philippa Boyens, his long-time collaborator and co-writer of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

They reportedly spent a year developing a treatment together.

Colbert even visited New Zealand to work closely with them on this project.

'One day he's a late night talk show host...'
Resilience amidst change

In the middle of their writing process, CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

"I think Steven's actually really happy, I think it helped him process [something that]...was rather shocking," he 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."

More about 'Shadows of the Past'
Project details

The new Lord of the Rings film, which was first announced by Jackson in a video in March, will be a sequel to Andy Serkis's The Hunt for Gollum.

It is currently titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past.

Penned by Colbert, his son Peter McGee, and Boyens, its logline reads: "Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo - Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure."

Colbert's 1st venture into blockbuster development
Past collaborations

This upcoming film will be Colbert's first venture into blockbuster development. However, it isn't his first collaboration with Jackson.

He also had a small role in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and later directed Jackson alongside Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood in the 2019 short film Darrylgorn, which was set in Middle-earth.