Peter Jackson Confirms Stephen Colbert's LOTR Film Is in the Works

If you've been quietly worried that Stephen Colbert's passion project in Middle-earth had quietly disappeared into the shadows, you can breathe again. Peter Jackson himself has stepped forward to confirm the film is very much alive — and the update is genuinely exciting for Tolkien fans.

What Peter Jackson Actually Said

While speaking at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain earlier this month, Jackson offered a clear-eyed status report on two upcoming Lord of the Rings films currently in motion. According to Collider, he confirmed that The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past — the project Stephen Colbert has been championing — is currently in the scriptwriting stage. That puts it a step behind The Hunt for Gollum, which Jackson noted has roughly two weeks of filming left to complete. So the pipeline is real, it's active, and it's moving.

This is a meaningful update, especially given earlier chatter suggesting the film may have stalled amid corporate reshuffling at Warner Bros. Jackson's comments at Sitges appear designed to reassure fans that The Shadow of the Past hasn't been quietly shelved.

What Colbert's Film Is Actually About

For those who haven't been following the project closely, The Shadow of the Past is a genuinely fascinating concept. Rather than retreading familiar ground, it zeroes in on six chapters from Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring that Peter Jackson's original trilogy skipped over entirely — most notably the beloved and deeply strange Tom Bombadil and his home in the Old Forest.

The story is set fourteen years after Frodo sails to the Undying Lands, and it follows three of our favourite hobbits — Sam, Merry, and Pippin — as they retrace the early steps of their original journey. The real hook, though, is Sam's daughter Elanor, who finds herself investigating a secret tied to the War of the Ring. It's essentially a mystery wrapped in nostalgia, which for longtime fans of the books sounds like an absolute dream.

Colbert, of course, is famously one of the most devoted Tolkien geeks in all of Hollywood — the kind of fan who can cite obscure lore on command. The idea of him shaping a story around corners of Middle-earth that never made it to the screen feels wonderfully right.

Where It Sits in the Bigger Middle-Earth Picture

The Lord of the Rings universe is having quite a moment right now. The third season of The Rings of Power is landing on November 11, kicking off with four episodes — so there's plenty of Middle-earth content arriving very soon for fans to dig into. And beyond that, The Hunt for Gollum — directed by and starring Andy Serkis, who originally brought Sméagol to life in Jackson's trilogy — is set to hit theaters on December 17, 2027. That film will explore the events leading up to the Council of Elrond at Rivendell, filling in another gap that the original films left open.

The Shadow of the Past doesn't have a release date yet, which makes sense given it's still in the scripting phase. But its confirmed development means there's genuine reason for optimism.

The Bigger Picture for Colbert

It's been quite a stretch for Colbert on multiple fronts. Fans of his late-night work have been following his journey closely — from the chaos of his Late Show finale to the show's celebrated Emmy moments. Now, with this film project firmly in development, it seems like a new chapter is taking shape — and this one involves actual hobbits.

No release window has been confirmed for The Shadow of the Past just yet, but with Jackson publicly vouching for its progress, things are looking a lot more hopeful than they did even a few months ago.