Why the New Lord of the Rings Film Is Dividing Fans

23 years on from the conclusion of one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, The Lord of the Rings franchise is bursting with life once more right now, but fans are not happy.

We’ve already had the Prime Video TV series The Rings of Power and the animated movie The War of Rohirrim, but the idea of a new live-action Lord of the Rings film directly linked to the original trilogy is a different proposition entirely. 

While you’d think fans would be desperate to return to Middle-earth once more, the majority are actually very much opposed to the news of the franchise expanding. Here’s what’s in the pipeline, and why it’s all causing such a stir.

Stephen Colbert is Writing a New Lord of the Rings Movie

Comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert is the one tasked with writing this new Lord of the Rings movie. As per a report from Variety, Colbert and his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, are working on the project, titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past.

It’s something that’s been brewing for the past two years, with another screenwriter, Philippa Boyens, involved, too. Boyens worked on the original trilogy, as well as The Hobbit trilogy, and also collaborated with LOTR and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson on King Kong.

How Colbert Convinced Peter Jackson to Return to Middle-earth

This new film was all Colbert’s idea. He first pondered the possibility of making this happen two years ago and worked with his son to flesh out the concept. That’s tricky enough, but then he had to convince Peter Jackson to let him push forward with the project that plays in his sandbox.

During the announcement video, Colbert said he’d told Jackson: “You know what the books mean to me, and what your films mean to me… 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?”

Colbert and McGee came up with a framing device to tell the story they wanted to tell, gave Jackson a call, and this resulted in the master filmmaker giving them his blessing.

What Will the Next LOTR Film be About?

The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past will focus on Chapters Three through Eight in J.R.R Tolkien’s first LOTR novel, which Peter Jackson did not include in his films.

The official logline for the movie 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.”

On the idea, Colbert said: “The thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in The Fellowship of the Ring that y’all never developed into the first movie back in the day. It’s basically the chapter ‘Three Is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-Downs’. And I thought, ‘Oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story.’”

Lord of the Rings Fans Are Not Happy

It’s safe to say that the overwhelming response from die-hard Lord of the Rings fans is that they simply do not want this movie to happen.

The main reason for that negative reception is that they fear the project will harm the legacy of the original trilogy. They have a point, too. In many ways, it feels like an unnecessary addition to something that was already perfect, and it’s a little sacrilegious to step into that story once more, all these years later.

For a large portion of the fanbase, this feels like little more than a cash grab. Why revisit Middle-earth’s most well-trodden path when that chapter was well and truly closed by Jackson in 2003?

While Colbert is a passionate LOTR aficionado, there are also concerns over his screenwriting credentials. You can love that world as much as you want, but that enthusiasm doesn’t always translate into good storytelling.

What's the Other Lord of the Rings Film in Development?

This is not the only Lord of the Rings movie causing a stir among the fanbase. In fact, many of the same complaints have been thrown at the decision to go ahead with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which will hit theatres next year.

Admittedly, with Andy Serkis in the director’s chair, there are far fewer fears over the talent behind the scenes. But there are still worries that a fairly thin story is being stretched to deliver another movie that is, ultimately, not needed.

Still, Jackson himself is excited about this one. In the announcement for Colbert’s project, Jackson said, “Andy is doing a terrific job. It’s looking amazing. The script is coming together really well, and I think it’s going to be a really good film.”

Did You Know Stephen Colbert Was in The Hobbit?

Colbert may not have much experience when it comes to writing scripts, but he’s been involved in Lord of the Rings projects in the past.

He had a small role in the 2013 film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, for a start. The TV show host has even directed Jackson and actors such as Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood in a 2019 short film called Darrylgorn, which was actually set in Middle-earth.

It’s perhaps a little harsh to write off Colbert’s project before it’s even started, and only time will tell if he delivers something the fans can get behind.