What Stephen Colbert’s New Lord Of The Rings Movie Is Based On

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The announcement that Stephen Colbert was helping to write a new Lord of the Rings movie, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, was surprising, and the details surrounding the film have only become more unusual – including how this story first came about. Shadow of the Past is just one of several Lord of the Rings projects currently being developed.

Besides the new movie starring Stephen Colbert, Season 3 of The Rings of Power is being filmed, and another film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, is also planned. While this level of activity is common for franchises like Star Wars or Marvel, The Lord of the Rings isn’t quite at that scale.

The franchise went silent for several years, but it’s now returning with a new movie. This film takes place roughly 14 years after the events of the original trilogy. Interestingly, instead of continuing those existing storylines, the new movie is structured like the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, essentially starting a new journey with a similar feel.

Stephen Colbert’s Lord Of The Rings Movie Is Based On A Book Chapter The Movie Trilogy Left Out

Even though Shadow of the Past is set 14 years after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, it doesn’t appear to directly follow the events of that film.

The new film will draw its story from parts of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring that weren’t included in Peter Jackson’s movies. Specifically, it will cover chapters 3 through 8, ending with the section called “Fog on the Barrow-Downs.”

In this chapter, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin journey to the Barrow-Downs, where they become lost and captured by the Barrow-wights – frightening undead creatures. Luckily, they’re rescued by Tom Bombadil, a powerful character from The Lord of the Rings who doesn’t appear in the movies.

Considering this chapter appears near the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s clear this story doesn’t happen after the events of The Return of the King.

It seems this new movie will tell a story from the past, probably connected to what the hobbits are doing now, fourteen years after the events of the original films. This makes sense because Sam’s daughter, who wasn’t born until after the hobbits returned home, is also going to be in the movie.

How The New Lord Of The Rings Movie Is A Sequel When It Adapts The Book

It might seem strange to turn parts of The Fellowship of the Ring into a new book set years later, and it remains to be seen how well it will work. However, Colbert has confirmed this project has been in the works for some time.

He explained they’re using a storytelling technique—a “framing device”—to share the story of Shadow of the Past without changing the established timeline of Lord of the Rings. This likely means the story will unfold in two timelines: one set in the present, 14 years after the events of The Return of the King and focusing on Sam’s daughter, and another set in the past, mirroring events from the Fellowship of the Ring chapters.

Honestly, one thought I had was that these stories might just be retellings of events from The Fellowship of the Ring, but set in a different time. However, that doesn’t really seem right, especially considering what Stephen Colbert has said about keeping the timeline consistent. He’s pretty much promised us this wouldn’t mess with the established order of things, so I doubt that’s what’s happening.

Adding to this, Stephen Colbert is a huge Lord of the Rings fan. It seems very unlikely he’d do anything that could be seen as disrespectful to the stories or to J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. However, it’s also possible there’s a different explanation for how the story is being handled that we don’t know about yet.

Currently, there’s no confirmed release date for Shadow of the Past. However, it will likely be several years before audiences can watch The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past and find out how the film addresses the timeline issues.

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2026-03-26 04:38