“Lord of the Rings” superfan Stephen Colbert was tapped to write the latest installment of the wildly popular movie series, studio officials said Wednesday, seizing on the TV personality's unexpected time off this summer.
Warner Bros. had "Rings" director Peter Jackson make the announcement in comedic fashion, speaking to a YouTube camera and telling fans he'd lined up "a very special partner that we're working with and you can see for yourself."
That's when he appeared to pull up a video chat and a figure hiding behind a book, Colbert.
"You know what the books mean to me and what your films mean to me," Colbert said.
CBS announced last year that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was being taken off the air despite the program's longtime critical acclaim. The last show is set for May 21.
The 10-time Emmy winner said he's always wanted to partner with his screenwriter son Peter McGee to ink a "Rings" script.
"And it took me a few years to scrape my courage into a pile to give you a call," Colbert said. "But about two years ago, I did. You liked it enough to talk to me about it."
Along the way, Colbert said he's been consulting with Oscar-winning "Rings" writer Philippa Boyens, New Line Cinema President Richard Brener and Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca.
"And I could not be happier to say that they loved it and so that’s what we’re going to be working on," Colbert said.
The CBS cancellation was the green light, Colbert said, he needed to dive into "Rings."
"I knew I couldn’t do that and do the show at the same time," he said. "But it turns out I’m going to be free starting this summer."
Between 2001 and 2003, fans rushed to theaters for the original "Rings" trilogy before a trio of "Hobbit" movies hit screens from 2012 to 2014. There's also a "Hunt for Gollum" work in pre-production.
Colbert and his son are set to adapt several chapters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic “The Fellowship of the Ring” novel for the new film that'll serve as a sequel to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
The new film will follow the series’ hobbit characters Sam, Merry and Pippin as they “retrace the first steps of their adventure,” following the death of Frodo Baggins, the trilogy’s main character, Warner Bros. said.
The original 2001-03 film trilogy — based on Tolkien’s novels “The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” — followed Frodo and a fellowship of characters on their journey to destroy the One Ring and the series’ main villain, Sauron.
The third film, “The Return of the King,” won 11 Oscars, tied for the most for any single work with “Titanic” and “Ben-Hur.”
