Colbert Pitched a Lord of the Rings Movie to Peter Jackson Before The Late Show Was Canceled
Stephen Colbert called Peter Jackson about a Tolkien-oriented film a year before CBS canceled The Late Show, and Jackson set him up with Philippa Boyens; the two, along with Colbert’s son and Boyens, spent about a year developing a treatment in New Zealand for a project tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past, which follows Frodo’s era years later and Sam’s daughter Elanor uncovering a hidden secret. Colbert has past ties to Middle-earth—including a small Hobbit role and a 2019 short with Jackson—and is continuing development on the film despite the show’s end.
