Warner Bros. is truly going to milk the Lord of the Rings franchise dry.
Late last night, Stephen Colbert and Peter Jackson announced, via the studio’s various social media accounts, a new live-action LOTR movie. It will be based on six chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. As Colbert explains:
“It’s basically the chapter ‘Three Is Company’ [Chapter III] through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ [Chapter VIII]. And I thought, ‘Oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?'”
Tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, the upcoming sequel (yes, you read that right) is set 14 years after the passing of Frodo. Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began, per Variety.
For those who haven’t read Fellowship in a while, Colbert is hinting that the movie will see the Hobbits trapped by a Barrow-wight in an unnatural fog. The story will also finally bring a fan-favorite LOTR character omitted from the previous films into Jackson’s Middle-earth franchise: Tom Bombadil.
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is set to be written by Colbert, Philippa Boyens, and Peter McGee, the latter of whom is Colbert’s son. This isn’t something that Warner Bros. quickly announced to the public. Colbert and McGee worked out a “framing device” for the film two years ago and have been working on the screenplay with Boyens ever since. And if you’re wondering why Colbert of all people is involved in a blockbuster franchise like LOTR at all, well, he’s a HUGE Tolkien fanatic.
The next film in the rebooted LOTR franchise will be The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, and adapted by Walsh, Boyens, Arty Papageorgio, and Phoebe Gittins. Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, and Ian McKellen are set to star alongside Gollum in the movie. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2027. No word yet on when Shadow of the Past might arrive, but we’ll keep you posted.
Do we really need another LOTR movie? Do you think Colbert’s love for Tolkien will make this not feel like a cash grab? Discuss below!
