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There hasn’t been very much to report about Stephen Colbert since his toxic, anti-Trump late night show was taken off the air last spring.
Colbert has been using his new free time to write a script for a ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie that would cover some chapters of the book that were not part of the Peter Jackson trilogy.
Unfortunately for Colbert, his new pet project has been placed on ‘pause’ due to the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger deal.
From Coming Soon, via Yahoo News:
Stephen Colbert’s Lord of the Rings Movie Hits a Major Roadblock
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past was set to expand J.R.R. Tolkien’s world with a story developed by Stephen Colbert. However, the project has hit an unexpected roadblock.
The Lord of the Rings franchise is still moving forward with new projects. Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is already in production. Warner Bros. previously confirmed The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past as another movie in the franchise.
The project came from longtime Lord of the Rings fan Stephen Colbert. According to Knight Edge Media, production has now been put on “pause” following the merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount. Colbert announced the project on Tolkien Day earlier this year.
He revealed that he was writing the movie alongside his son and Lord of the Rings writer Philippa Boyens. Filmmakers plan to explore previously unseen parts of Tolkien’s lore, potentially adapting material from six Fellowship of the Ring chapters that Peter Jackson’s original trilogy omitted.
However, the newly formed Skydance has reportedly slowed the project down. Shadow of the Past was previously rumored to begin filming after The Hunt for Gollum wrapped production in New Zealand.
Is it about profitablilty?
Finally tired of losing money.
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) October 5, 2026
This is quite the hot take.
The MAGA-fication of Hollywood has begun. No doubt this request has come from the top.
— Dave Lee (@daveleedwnundr) October 4, 2026
Hollywood is going MAGA? Really?
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