Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show was canceled ahead the merger between Paramount and Skydance Media, marking the end of an era. But since then, Colbert has moved onto other endeavors, including an in-development Lord of the Rings movie. Now, however, it seems that Paramount Skydance’s imminent merger with Warner Bros. Discovery might have an impact on that fantasy film as well. Per a recent update on the project, it hit a major speed bump, as questions loom about LOTR and its profitability, which allegedly hinge on another movie entirely.
What’s Going On With Stephen Colbert’s LOTR Movie?
Per a recent report from KnightEdgeMedia.Com, Colbert’s Lord of the Rings project has allegedly hit major speed bumps in its development. As the merger nears finalization, there’s reportedly fear that the franchise isn’t as profitable as it once was. It’s said that executives would sooner wait and see how The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt for Gollum performs in theaters first.
In short, there’s supposedly no guarantee that Colbert’s movie even happens until studio execs see the box office returns on a movie that won’t release until the end of the 2027 movie schedule. That’s a long time for a movie to sit in limbo, so it’s easy to see why some may worry this project is dead, even if Warner Bros. has confirmed the movie is still in development.
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Several Details About Stephen Colbert’s Lord Of The Rings Are Known Right Now
This is a bummer update for fans of LOTR, some of whom were no doubt excited to see Colbert’s take on the six uncovered chapters of the movie. His film would also mark a big-screen, live-action debut for beloved character Tom Bombadil, who was last featured in Rings of Power.
For now, though, there still seems to be hope that this movie will happen. The downside is that we may be waiting a long time to ever see it hit the big screen. An optimist might say we’ve already waited decades to see those unfilmed chapters come to life. What’s a few more years?
As for questions about whether The Lord of the Rings is still profitable, those assumptions began to crop up after The War of the Rohirrim flopped in theaters in 2024. While critics praised the animated LOTR movie for how well it was made, it failed to capture the attention of the mainstream and went largely unnoticed.
Is that a fair movie to base LOTR‘s success on? Does this have anything to do with Stephen Colbert’s past comments about his former employers at Paramount? We don’t have the answers, but these are questions people will likely be asking. Meanwhile, I’ll just be remaining optimistic in regard to Colbert’s Lord of the Rings movie materializing, because I’d love to see his take on Middle-earth.