Warner Bros. has unveiled the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ film in development Stephen Colbert and his son, Peter McGee, helping to complete the project. The studio made the announcement on Tuesday night via its social media accounts, revealing that the film will be titled ‘The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past’.The news quickly drew attention because Colbert is a longtime Tolkien fan, and the film is set to follow ‘The Hunt for Gollum,’ the next big screen chapter in the fantasy franchise.
Details of Stephen Colbert’s “Lord of the Rings” movie
Variety reported that the announcement came via a video Peter Jacksonwho shared an update on Andy Serkis’ ‘The Hunt for Gollum’. Jackson said: “Andy is doing an amazing job. He looks fantastic. The script is shaping up really well and I think it’s going to be a really good movie.” He then introduced Colbert as his “very special partner” in the next film after that premiere.
Colbert explained that his idea came from the early parts of JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, which did not appear in Jackson’s 2001 film. “You know what books mean to me, and what your movies mean to me,” Colbert said. He added that he kept going back to “six chapters” that never fit. “It’s basically a ‘Three Is Company’ chapter [Chapter III] via ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ [Chapter VIII]. And I thought, ‘Oh, wait, maybe that could fit into the bigger story.'”The late-night host said he later developed the idea with his son and created a “framing device” for the story. After that, he contacted Jackson. In the last two years, they have worked with screenwriter Philippa Boyens on the script.
The story of ‘The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past’
The film’s official log reads: “Fourteen years after Frodo’s death, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure.” He adds that Sam’s daughter, Elanor, discovers a hidden mystery related to the War of the Ring. The project is Colbert’s first major move in successful film development. Boyens returns to the franchise with deep roots, having helped write the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Hobbit” films and “King Kong.”‘
