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Stephen Colbert knows you might be mad about writing a Lord of the Rings movie script - but he's going to do it anyway

Middle-earth stalwart Colbert addresses any fans who might be upset that he got the gig of writing the next Lord of the Rings film after The Hunt for Gollum. Which, for the record, I am not mad about

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Thu May 07 2026

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Why should The Lord of the Rings trust Stephen Colbert to write the next film after The Hunt for Gollum?

"I mean, there’s no reason to," answers the comedy icon.

Uh, OK, let's maybe start this again. Colbert recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his future after his tenure on The Late Show comes to a close, for totally financial and certainly not political reasons. During his discussion with the outlet, Colbert was asked to address any LOTR fans who might be upset about him getting the job of writing an upcoming Middle-Earth movie.

"There’s no value in me addressing that," Colbert responded, "Because all you can do as — I’ll use a loaded term here — an artist is follow your heart and the craft that you have learned to try to turn this into something that is not fandom but drama."

Taking a personal aside here, reader - this humble reporter actually prefers that, if someone is going to write a Lord of the Rings movie, it be someone as dedicated to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as Colbert has proven himself to be time and again. But does that mean that Colbert is relying on just his own love of Tolkien's works to to produce a great script? Not at all - he's calling in LOTR's cinematic forebears for assistance.

"Luckily," he concludes, "I don’t have to do this alone. I have a great Sherpa in [co-writer and LOTR veteran] Philippa Boyens, who cares about it in the same way I do. And I will just say that every moment has been a joy so far."

In other words, Stephen, there is reason to trust you.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum comes to theaters December 17, 2027.

Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you:

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.