Stephen Colbert’s LORD OF THE RINGS: SHADOW OF THE PAST Movie Reportedly Put on Hold
Stephen Colbert’s trip to Middle-earth may have hit an unexpected roadblock. Any Lord of the Rings fan knows Stephen Colbert is among the most dedicated Tolkien geeks around, which made his involvement in The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past such an interesting prospect.
The movie was shaping up to explore material Peter Jackson’s trilogy skipped while also continuing the story of Sam, Merry, Pippin, and the next generation of Hobbits.
Unfortunately, the project has reportedly been put on indefinite hiatus. According to Knight Edge Media, Shadow of the Past has been paused as the Paramount-Skydance merger nears completion.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the movie is dead, but an indefinite hiatus certainly isn’t the news fans hoping to see Colbert’s take on Middle-earth wanted to hear.
Colbert is writing the screenplay alongside Peter McGee, and the story was designed to revisit one of the biggest stretches of The Fellowship of the Ring that never made it into Jackson’s movies.
The film would pull heavily from Chapters III through VIII of Tolkien’s novel, covering the Hobbits’ early journey from “Three Is Company” through “Fog on the Barrow-Downs.” That means characters and events missing from Jackson’s trilogy could finally make their way to the screen, including Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, and the Barrow-wights.
At the same time, Shadow of the Past wouldn’t simply adapt material left out of the original movies. The story would jump ahead and bring Sam, Merry, and Pippin back together years after Frodo’s departure from Middle-earth.
The official logline reads: "Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”
That’s what made this project so interesting. The movie could revisit familiar territory from another perspective while finally adapting parts of Tolkien’s book that longtime fans have wanted to see onscreen.
Colbert previously explained why these particular chapters caught his attention: "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?'"
It’s an ambitious approach, especially because Colbert and McGee are trying to respect Tolkien’s original story while keeping the movie connected to the cinematic Middle-earth established by Peter Jackson.
There’s also the question of who would return. Sean Astin has been associated with the project as Samwise Gamgee, and while additional returning cast members haven’t been confirmed, the premise naturally opens the door for Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan to reprise their roles as Pippin and Merry.
A story about the three Hobbits retracing their original adventure would certainly feel incomplete without the trio reunited.
Of course, Shadow of the Past isn’t the only Lord of the Rings movie being developed. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is moving forward with Andy Serkis directing. The film is currently shooting.
Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens previously shared their enthusiasm about returning to Tolkien’s world with Serkis:
“It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum!.
“As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Serkis added: “Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa.
“With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious…”.
Warner Bros. has also made it clear that preserving Tolkien’s legacy remains a priority as these new movies are developed:
“For over two-decades, moviegoers have embraced the Lord of the Rings film trilogy because of the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision.”
WBD film chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca added: “We are honored they have agreed be our partners on these two new films. With Andy coming aboard to direct Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum(*WT), we continue an important commitment to excellence that is a true hallmark of how we all want to venture ahead and further contribute to the Lord of the Rings cinematic”
Hopefully, this latest report about Shadow of the Past doesn’t mean the project is finished for good. I was actually very interested in this movie and excited to see how Colbert and McGee would tackle this particular corner of Tolkien’s story.
Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wights are major pieces of The Fellowship of the Ring that Jackson chose to leave out, and building a new adventure around that material while bringing Sam, Merry, and Pippin back together sounded like a cool way to return to Middle-earth without simply repeating what audiences have already seen.
For now, though, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past appears to be stuck in the Shire. Hopefully someone gets this adventure back on the road sooner rather than later.