As a seasoned late-night host, Stephen Colbert is leaving CBS, but not before he leaves his mark in the Tolkien universe. In a shocking turn of events, he is diving into Middle-Earth by stepping into the development of a "Lord of the Rings" movie. And if that's a twist nobody saw coming, he's got another one – his son will also be working alongside him on the film. Warner Bros. dropped this bombshell after sharing an official first look into "Harry Potter," giving fans a double dose of excitement.
Peter Jackson, the creator of the universe, unveils Colbert by beginning with an update on the forthcoming "Hunt for Gollum." He then teases a "very special partner" who will join up for the next chapter. The Late Show host then reveals himself and offers an update on the movie after the upcoming Gollum, "The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past."
As a die-hard fan of Tolkien's novels, Colbert hints that the film will focus on parts of "The Fellowship of the Rings" that were not shown in the 2001 movie. He says, "But the thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in [‘The Fellowship of the Ring’] that ya’ll never developed into the first movie back in the day." He continues, "It’s basically the chapter ‘Three is Company’ [Chapter III] through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ [Chapter VIII]. 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?’”
Notably, this is not the first time Colbert has stepped into the Middle-earth universe. He had a cameo in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and directed "Darrylgorn," a short film inspired by Tolkien's work.
