Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema confirmed today The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past the second of two upcoming The Lord of the Rings filmswill be written by Philippa Boyens, S

Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema confirmed today The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past (*WT) - the second of two upcoming The Lord of the Rings films—will be written by Philippa Boyens, Stephen Colbert, and Peter McGee and produced by WingNut Films in association with Spartina Industries.

Colbert, a lifelong Tolkien devotee, joins forces with the Oscar‑winning architects of the original trilogies—Sir Peter Jackson, Dame Fran Walsh, and Boyens—to bring fans back to the world that shaped a generation with The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past (*WT).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMHh4L2626A

Synopsis: 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.

·   Stephen Colbert hosts the Emmy and Peabody Award winning, #1 show in late night The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He previously hosted The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, following his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Colbert’s production company, Spartina Industries, most recently produced two seasons of the late-night program After Midnight on CBS and has several projects in development including a series adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s novels, The Chronicles of Amber.

·   Peter McGee is a screenwriter and filmmaker who graduated from Northwestern’s Film School and later studied at FAMU International Film School. His Film/TV experience includes work on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Outer Banks, The Righteous Gemstones, Blue Bloods, and Tooning Out the News. McGee has also written for various independent projects and is the lead singer of the Brooklyn‑based rock band, Evil Twin.

·   Philippa Boyens is a New Zealand screenwriter and producer best known for her long creative partnership with filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. A lifelong Tolkien devotee, she joined Jackson and Walsh to adapt The Lord of the Rings for the screen, earning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Return of the King in 2004. The trio went on to collaborate on King Kong (2005), The Lovely Bones (2009), District 9 (2009), the Hobbit trilogy, and Mortal Engines (2018). In recognition of her contributions to New Zealand cinema, Boyens was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004. Boyens remains an active force in the Tolkien universe today. She served as producer and story consultant on the 2024 anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim and is currently producing and co-writing the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis, releasing in December 2027.

·   Jackson, Walsh, Boyens, and Zane Weiner are currently in pre‑production on the first of the two films, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (*WT). Directed by—and starring—the incomparable Andy Serkis, the film marks a long‑awaited return to one of the most iconic characters in modern cinema. 

·   Together, the six theatrical films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have earned nearly $6 billion worldwide—an astounding testament to the passion of fans across the globe. The Fellowship of the Ring was the second‑highest‑grossing film of its year, while The Two Towers and The Return of the King each reigned as the No. 1 global release during their theatrical runs.

·   As The Fellowship of the Ring celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, the original trilogy returned to theaters via Fathom Entertainment—and fans enthusiastically answered the call, propelling the re‑release to $25 million at the box office. Warner Bros. Discovery will continue celebrating this milestone year with additional fan‑focused events and surprises throughout 2026.

·   Over two decades, these six films reshaped cinematic history. From 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring to 2014’s The Battle of the Five Armies, the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies pushed the boundaries of filmmaking on a global scale. At a time when the Best Picture race included only five nominees, each film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy secured a coveted Best Picture nomination and collectively earned an extraordinary 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 wins—including the historic 11‑Oscar sweep for The Return of the King. The Hobbit trilogy continued this legacy of excellence, garnering seven additional Oscar nominations and receiving a Scientific and Technical Achievement Award for the groundbreaking innovations developed on An Unexpected Journey.

·   In 2021, The Fellowship of the Ring was immortalized in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry—cementing its place as a treasured piece of cinematic and cultural history.

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