Stephen Colbert announced to write ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie

March 25 (UPI) — Stephen Colbert has been announced to write a new Lord of the Rings movie.

Colbert, 61, and filmmaker Peter Jackson, who directed the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, shared the news Wednesday on Tolkien Reading Day, a date celebrating Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Colbert, his son Peter McGee, and Philippa Boyens will adapt early chapters from The Fellowship of the Ring that were not included in Jackson’s original trilogy of films.

“It’s basically chapters ‘Three is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-downs,’ 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?'” Colbert said.

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The movie, tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, will be released after the new film The Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum, directed by and starring Andy Serkis.

“Andy’s doing a terrific job. It’s looking amazing. The script is coming together really well and I think it’s going to be a really good film,” Jackson said.

Colbert, the former host of The Late Show and a longtime Tolkien fan, had a cameo in the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He spoofed the character Aragorn on The Late Show in 2019 and hosted a Lord of the Rings cast reunion on the show in 2021.