Stephen Colbert's Lord Of The Rings Movie Has Fans All Saying The Same Thing

Anyone who knows anything about late night host Stephen Colbert, knows that he's a J.R.R. Tolkien superfan. In fact, he doesn't shut up about it. In 2021, for instance, Colbert had the internet in stitches with his "Lord of the Rings" rap that celebrated the 20th anniversary of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."

Colbert's fandom earned him a stint as an actor you didn't know was hiding in a Tolkien movie. In "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," he briefly appears onscreen as the Laketown Spy. Now, he's taking things one step further by actually co-writing a new Tolkien movie, currently under the working title "The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past." Colbert, Philippa Boyens, and Peter McGee will write the script, which takes inspiration from the as-yet unadapted "Fellowship of the Ring" chapter "Fogs on the Barrow-downs."

The internet, of course, has taken note of Colbert's deepest Tolkien dive yet. The fans have had their say, and seem to agree that Colbert is the right man for the job. "If anyone was going to write this, you could do worse than Colbert. Dude is an encyclopedia of 'Lord of the Rings,'" user u/M086 wrote on Reddit. 

A "Lord of the Rings" movie featuring the Fellowship's remaining three hobbits going through a part of the source material that's yet to be adapted seems like a tall order, even for one of the best late night TV hosts. Still, despite doubts on Stephen Colbert's screenwriting experience, fans can't deny his passion.

"I don't think he'd take in such a project strictly for the money," redditor u/HavSomLov4YoBrothr wrote. "I'd like to think he can be trusted enough to give it a chance." Meanwhile, user u/HotOne9364 addressed inevitable critics of Colbert's lack of screenwriting plaudits by pointing out another comedy master who reinvented himself as a horror luminary. "Has Jordan Peele ever written anything aside from television sketches?" they sarcastically wrote. This seems like a reasonable comparison, considering Colbert has written quality TV comedy since 1996.

Over on X, similar sentiments have been expressed. User @ThomasonTown referenced the high-profile cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in 2025. "Stephen Colbert got fired by CBS, but now he has time to literally write a 'Lord of the Rings' movie. I don't think I can imagine a better, 'One door closes, another opens,' scenario," they wrote. We'll hopefully learn more about Colbert's Tolkien project in the not-too-distant future.