Stephen Colbert reveals secret project in 'Lord of the Rings' universe but he is not alone

Stephen Colbert has a history of stepping into the world of 'Lord of the Rings'

By Hassan Sohail
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March 25, 2026
Stephen Colbert makes surprising entry to 'Lord of the Rings' universe

Stephen Colbert is leaving CBS soon, but prior to his exit, he already managed to land a job even in the Tolkien universe.

Yes, the late-night host, in a shocker, is set to dive into Middle-Earth by stepping into the development of a Lord of the Rings movie.

If that's the twist nobody saw coming, then Colbert packs another one, i.e., his son will also work beside him on the film.

Warner Bros. dropped the bombshell after sharing an official first look into Harry Potter, giving fans a double dose of excitement.

Peter Jackson, who is the universe creator, unveils Colbert by beginning with an update on the forthcoming Hunt for Gollum before teasing a "very special partner" will join up for the next chapter.

The Late Show host then reveals himself, who then offers an update on the movie after the upcoming Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past.

As a die-hard fan of Tolkien novels, Colbert hints the film will focus on parts of The Fellowship of the Rings that were not shown in the 2001 movie.

“But the thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in [‘The Fellowship of the Ring’] that ya’ll never developed into the first movie back in the day."

"It’s basically the chapter ‘Three is Company’ [Chapter III] through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’ [Chapter VIII]."

"And I thought, ‘Oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?'”

Notably, this is not the first time Colbert stepped into the Middle-earth universe. He had a cameo in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and directed Darrylgorn, a short film inspired by Tolkien's work.