Stephen Colbert’s Tolkien Film Stalled After Warner Bros Merger

The Lord of the Rings fans waiting for Stephen Colbert’s proposed Middle-earth film may have a longer wait ahead. Colbert revealed on Tolkien Day that he was writing a new Lord of the Rings movie called Shadow of the Past. He was set to write the project with his son and Lord of the Rings alum Philippa Boyens. The film was expected to revisit material from The Fellowship of the Ring that Peter Jackson left out of the original movie, including the Old Forest, the Barrow-downs, and Tom Bombadil. It was not the project many fans expected after The Hunt for Gollum, but it offered another possible theatrical return to Tolkien’s world. This week, Knight Edge Media reported that Skydance had encountered “development problems” with Shadow of the Past. The movie had been rumored to begin filming in New Zealand after The Hunt for Gollum wrapped production. Warner Bros. has since merged with Paramount Pictures, bringing major changes to the company’s leadership. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who helped arrange Warner Bros.’ future Lord of the Rings films with Peter Jackson in 2023, are no longer with the studio. Colbert also faces a different situation after CBS, a Skydance subsidiary, fir...