Stephen Colbert’s Middle-earth Movie Reportedly Hits Pause After the Warner Bros. Merger

Few celebrities love Middle-earth as loudly as Stephen Colbert. The late-night host has long been known as a vocal Tolkien devotee, and he even picked up a cameo as a Lake-town spy in ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. In 2019 he directed a short film set in Middle-earth called ‘Darrylgorn’, with Peter Jackson and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ stars Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood.

So fans cheered when Colbert’s dream project was announced on Tolkien Reading Day, March 25. He was co-writing ‘The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past‘ with his son, Peter McGee, and franchise veteran Philippa Boyens, with Peter Jackson producing. Colbert and Jackson had developed the script over about 2 years.

The story draws on 6 chapters of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ that Jackson never adapted in his 2001 film. It is set 14 years after the passing of Frodo and follows Sam, Merry and Pippin as they retrace the first steps of their journey. Sam’s daughter Elanor uncovers a secret that nearly cost them everything.

Now there is a major setback. The Mellon Heads podcast shared a post saying the newly formed Skydance is hitting “pause” on the movie for now. It cites an exclusive from Knight Edge Media, which reported that filming on ‘Shadow of the Past’ had been rumored to begin shortly after ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ wrapped in New Zealand. The post adds that it is “not fully cancelled but not looking good”.

Major Update regarding Stephen Colbert’s Middle-earth movie Newly formed Skydance is hitting “pause” on the film for now. Originally, the movie was rumored to begin filming shortly after The Hunt for Gollum ended back in New Zealand. Now that Warner Bros. has officially merged with Paramount Pictures, it has hit major stumbling block. Not fully cancelled but not looking good Source: @KnightEdgeMedia

— The Mellon Heads – LOTR Podcast (@mellon_heads) October 4, 2026

According to the report, a lot has changed in executive leadership since Warner Bros. merged with Paramount. Colbert developed the film at Warner Bros., but he is now at the mercy of Paramount CEO David Ellison. He may still work on drafts, but filming isn’t expected anytime soon.

Other outlets echoing the report said the film is not fully cancelled. World of Reel, citing Knight Edge Media’s sources, said the new studio wants to see how ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ performs before greenlighting more projects. It also noted that Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the executives who backed the project, are no longer with the company.

These claims come from a single exclusive report and have not been confirmed by the studio. Nothing in the coverage reviewed includes an official statement from Skydance or Warner Bros. on the film.

The timing lines up with a huge corporate shake-up. Paramount’s roughly $110B acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery was approved by a federal judge, and the companies announced an anticipated closing date of October 6. Reports describe the merger as complete or nearly complete, so the exact status is worth watching.

Ellison also announced that the merged company would be called Skydance, according to Screen Rant. Colbert, meanwhile, was working on the film while finishing his CBS show, ‘The Late Show’, which ended in May.

The good news for Tolkien fans is that Andy Serkis’ ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ is not affected. It is already in production, and the report says nothing will stop it. The film is set for release in 2027 and takes place between ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, following Aragorn and Gandalf’s search for Gollum.

That film is now effectively the test case for Middle-earth under new ownership. If it performs well, ‘Shadow of the Past’ could be revived. If it doesn’t, Colbert’s dream project may stay stuck in development.

For a franchise built on long journeys, this is one more delay.