Stephen Colbert not too long ago revealed his sudden subsequent profession transfer after “The Late Present” will come to an finish on CBS in Might: He will probably be co-writing a new “Lord of the Rings” movie titled “Shadow of the Previous.”
He could have hinted on the announcement on Monday’s episode of the “Smartless” podcast (which was taped on March 18, every week earlier than the “LOTR” venture was unveiled on March 24).
Requested by co-hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes about what he’ll do when he leaves the desk on the Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert stored mum on the specifics, however stated, “I’ll inform you, the one who did the factor I most admire — I imply, not most admire, however the factor that actually struck me is, what [Bill] Hader did when he left ‘SNL’? He went and wrote for ‘South Park’ for a season.”
Colbert recalled sitting behind Hader on the Emmys shortly after his departure from “Saturday Evening Reside.” Hader left the NBC sketch comedy collection in 2013 and returned to “South Park,” the place he had beforehand labored as a artistic marketing consultant, producer and voice actor.
“I stated, ‘Man, that’s the proper factor to do.’ Simply go serve one thing that you simply love already,” Colbert stated. “See, can I be of service to folks whose work I actually admire? I believed that’s an amazing factor to do. Don’t even fear about your standing of your earlier gig. Simply go do one thing you’re keen on.”
Colbert teased that he had plans within the works however wouldn’t inform the “Smartless” hosts what they’re “as a result of then you definately would go do them. I do know what Hollywood is like.”
Six days later, Warner Bros. would announce “Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Previous” through a video from Peter Jackson and Colbert. An outspoken Tolkien fanatic, Colbert defined that the plot of his film will come from chapters of “The Fellowship of the Ring” that didn’t make it into Jackson’s 2001 adaptation. He developed the thought together with his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, and finally labored up the braveness to pitch it to Jackson, who helped take it to Warner Bros. During the last two years, they’ve labored with screenwriter Philippa Boyens to develop a script.
The movie, which can come after Andy Serkis’ 2027 installment “The Hunt for Gollum” will happen 14 years after the dying of Frodo. “Sam, Merry and Pippin got down to retrace the primary steps of their journey,” reads the logline. “In the meantime, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has found a long-buried secret and is set to uncover why the Battle of the Ring was very almost misplaced earlier than it even started.”
Colbert’s last episode of “The Late Present” will air on Might 21 on CBS. In July 2025, the long-running late-night talker was canceled by CBS after 33 years, 11 seasons of which had been hosted by Colbert.
