Another Lord of the Rings film announced – and that’s not the only surprise

Warner Bros. announced another film set in The Lord of the Rings universe on March 25, 2026. Surprisingly, Stephen Colbert will be involved as a writer. For anyone wondering what he has to do with The Lord of the Rings: the US host and comedian is a self-confessed fan of the fantasy epic. He is developing the project together with his son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens, who was one of the key writers behind Peter Jackson’s films. The current working title is The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. No director or release date has been announced yet.

Before Colbert’s film arrives, however, The Hunt for Gollum is next. According to Reuters, the project, which is being directed by Andy Serkis, is currently in pre-production and is expected to be released before Shadow of the Past. The latter was announced by none other than Peter Jackson via the official Warner Bros. account on X. The video also offers a brief look at the production of The Hunt for Gollum. Jackson will be involved in both film projects as a producer and creative partner.

Not just a simple book adaptation

Shadow of the Past is apparently not intended to be a direct one-to-one adaptation of a single book chapter. Instead, a new story with a framing narrative is planned. The official premise is as follows: fourteen years after Frodo’s death, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out once again to retrace the first steps of their earlier adventure. At the same time, Sam’s daughter Elanor discovers a long-hidden secret. She wants to find out why the War of the Ring was almost lost before it had even truly begun.

The film is based on several early chapters from The Fellowship of the Ring that were omitted from Peter Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings film. Colbert explains that those six early chapters in particular have occupied his mind for a long time. More specifically, the story draws on the section from “Three Is Company” to “Fog on the Barrow-downs.” That includes the hobbits’ early journey after leaving the Shire, the Old Forest, Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-downs. These are precisely the early chapters the Hobbits are set to explore more closely in the planned film.

Community astonished

After the recent announcement of The Hunt for Gollum, hardly anyone would have expected Warner Bros. to give fans yet another Lord of the Rings film. On Reddit, however, there is still some doubt over whether Colbert is creatively up to a project like this. That said, the tone is less hostile than humorous, with users often replying through iconic quotes – such as Éomer’s famous words about Merry: “I don’t doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm.” Reddit user u/Shargur presumably means that they are not questioning Colbert’s good intentions, but rather whether those alone are enough to deliver a truly strong Lord of the Rings film.