New Lord of the Rings film spin-off confirmed – and it's set after the original trilogy
The new film will be penned by comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert, along with his son Peter McGee and Lord of the Rings veteran Philippa Boyens.
New Line Productions
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Wednesday, 25 March 2026 at 4:51 pm
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In the world of sequels and spin-offs we currently live in, the next big franchise announcement is never far away – and this week it's been confirmed that a new Lord of the Rings project is in development.
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The movie has been given the tentative title The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past and will be loosely based on the eighth chapter of JRR Tolkein's The Fellowship of the Ring, although it will be set after the events of the original trilogy.
Interestingly, the project is being penned by Stephen Colbert, who is most famous for his hugely successful career as a comedian and talk show host, but is also well known as a massive fan of The Lord of the Rings. He's writing the screenplay alongside his son Peter McGee and franchise veteran Philippa Boyens.
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The film will be set 14 years after Frodo has passed away, and will follow his old friends Sam, Merry and Pippin as they set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure.
The synopsis continues that: "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."
Meanwhile, it is also believed that fan favourite character Tom Bombadil – who has not appeared in the previous films – will be included.
The film was announced in a video by Colbert and Peter Jackson, who of course directed the original movie trilogy as well as the subsequent Hobbit movies, and will serve as a producer here.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was recently cancelled. Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images
"You know what the books mean to me and what your films mean to me, but the thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in the Fellowship that y’all never developed into the first movie back in the day," Colbert explained.
Meanwhile, he added that the plan was for the film to "be its own story that could fit into the larger story" and to make something "that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies".
Of course, this is not the only Lord of the Rings spin-off film currently in development, with Andy Serkis set to direct a movie titled The Hunt for Gollum, which will reportedly see Sir Ian McKellen reprise his role as Gandalf and may also include a role for Kate Winslet.
The Hunt for Gollum was first announced in May 2024, with Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealing that it is intended to be the first of a new batch of movies set within Middle-earth that will "explore storylines yet to be told".
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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