Som du måske allerede ved, så skal Lord of the Rings-superfan og ekspert, Stephen Colbert, levere manuskriptet til en vovet ny Lord of the Rings-film ved navn Shadows of the Past, der sker i samspil med den originale manuskriptforfatter Philippa Boyens.
Filmen fortæller historien om de unge hobitters møde med Tom Bombadil i kapitel 3-8 i Fellowship of the Ring, men fortælles igennem flashbacks af Sam, Merry og Pippin efter trilogiens begivenheder, men efter at Frodo har forladt Middle-earth.
"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," lyder beskrivelsen.
Colbert er dog blevet kritiseret, og i et interview med The Hollywood Reporter adresserer han kritikken om at han kun er blevet valgt til at lave manuskriptet, fordi han er en kendt figur fra Hollywood - ikke fordi han er bedst egnet.
"I mean, there's no reason to. And there's no value in me addressing that because all you can do as — I'll use a loaded term here — an artist is follow your heart and the craft that you have learned to try to turn this into something that is not fandom but drama. Luckily, I don't have to do this alone. I have a great Sherpa in [co-writer and LOTR veteran] Philippa Boyens, who cares about it in the same way I do. And I will just say that every moment has been a joy so far."
Det vides endnu ikke om skuespillere vender tilbage fra de originale film.