Warner Bros. posted a video to X to announce the news, and Colbert clarified which parts of The Fellowship of the Ring the upcoming film will cover. It will tackle six chapters in total, from “Three Is Company” to “Fog on the Barrow-downs.” This means we’ll see one of the Lord of the Rings trilogy’s biggest cut characters, as well as an obstacle Frodo doesn’t face in the original films. However, it seems inevitable that the writers will need to expand or add things to spread these chapters into a feature-length film. It’s one of many criticisms the new Lord of the Rings project is facing. Here’s what we can anticipate.
6) “Three Is Company” (Book 1, Chapter 3)
Image via New Line Cinema
“Three Is Company” is the first of the six chapters Colbert’s Lord of the Rings movie will cover, and that indicates it will pick up just as Frodo and Sam leave the Shire. This is, of course, covered in The Fellowship of the Ring movie, though not as thoroughly as it is in the book. And it fits well with The Hunt for Gollum, which is set in-between Bilbo’s birthday party and Frodo’s departure.
Not a ton of significance happens in this chapter, though Frodo sells Bag End and has a birthday party before leaving. The latter could make a fun parallel to Bilbo’s celebration in The Fellowship of the Ring, showing more of the Shire. Frodo purchases a home across the Brandywine River, so no one will grow suspicious about where he’s going. Merry and Fatty Bolger venture ahead, with Frodo, Sam, and Pippin agreeing to meet them there. On their way, the trio encounters a Black Rider that they’re forced to hide from — a scene we get a version of in the original movie. They also have a run-in with Elves, who protect them from the Nazgûl.
5) “A Short Cut to Mushrooms” (Book 1, Chapter 4)
Image via New Line Cinema
“A Shortcut to Mushrooms” is the fourth chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring Book 1, and it sees the hobbits continuing their journey to the Brandywine River — and continuing to evade the Nazgûl. That’s the part that will likely be played up for the upcoming movie, though we may get to know Farmer Maggot better as well. Frodo, Sam, and Pippin journey through his fields of crops, and they end up having dinner at his home.
That’s how they discover that Sauron’s minions are asking after them, and they just miss another encounter with a Black Rider on their way to the Ferry after. They eventually find Merry waiting for them near the river, marking the end of a short and mostly inconsequential chapter. It’ll be fun to see more of the hobbits’ dynamics, though, especially as they’re separated for most of The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
4) “A Conspiracy Unmasked” (Book 1, Chapter 5)
Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin in The Lord of the Rings.
“A Conspiracy Unmasked” finds Frodo and the other hobbits arriving at the home he bought as a cover, though they don’t stay very long. Frodo tells Merry, Pippin, and Fatty Bolger of his true mission, and as it turns out, they already know about it. This is due to Sam’s eavesdropping, though the upcoming film may need to make some changes to fit this chapter into The Fellowship movie’s timeline. (Sam is caught listening in on Frodo’s and Gandalf’s conversation quickly there, leaving little time for him to tell anyone about it.)
Merry and Pippin also agree to accompany Frodo knowing the dangers that lie ahead, while Fatty Bolger stays and keeps up with the house. It’s hard to say how Colbert’s script will tackle this, as it’s a nice glimpse of the hobbits’ friendship…but it doesn’t really work with the way the trilogy unfolds.
3) “The Old Forest” (Book 1, Chapter 6)
As its title suggests, “The Old Forest” sees Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin entering the titular location — and this is where the meat of Colbert’s movie is likely to begin. The group struggles to navigate the forest, and Tom Bombadil eventually has to step in and help the group. Tom Bombadil is famously excluded from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and up until 2024, it was dubious he’d ever make his way to the screen. He appeared in The Rings of Power Season 2, however, and he’ll likely enter Warner Bros.’ franchise in Colbert’s movie as well.
His entrance is likely to be the most exciting part of “The Old Forest” brought to the screen, though we’ll get more moments between our favorite group of hobbits. This chapter ends with Tom inviting them back to his home, leading us directly into the events of “In the House of Tom Bombadil.”
2) “In the House of Tom Bombadil” (Book 1, Chapter 7)
“In the House of Tom Bombadil” is where we really get to know one of Tolkien’s most mysterious characters, and an adaptation of this chapter is likely to be as whimsical and entertaining as it is in the book. There’ll be singing and storytelling as the hobbits stay with Tom and his wife, Goldberry, and the latter will lay the groundwork for what should be the conflict of Colbert’s movie: the hobbits being taken by a Barrow-wight.
Tom also briefly holds the One Ring, which is sure to raise all sorts of questions about who or what he is in Tolkien’s lore. It’ll be intriguing to see how the new Lord of the Rings movie approaches this. And Frodo puts on the One Ring here, another detail that risks retconning Jackson’s Fellowship movie (though that should be a bit easier to leave out).
1) “Fog on the Barrow-downs” (Book 1, Chapter 8)
Unless the movie makes significant changes to Tolkien’s source material, the climax of Colbert’s film is likely to be Frodo and his friends getting captured by one of the Barrow-wights Tom Bombadil speaks of. After leaving Tom’s home, the hobbits venture to the Barrow-downs, where their navigation issues continue. Frodo gets separated from the group, coming face-to-face with a Barrow-wight. He falls unconscious and wakes to discover that his friends have also been taken by the creature.
It’s only thanks to Tom Bombadil that the group escapes, and he sets the hobbits back on the right path. This chapter concludes with them approaching Bree, where they eventually meet Aragorn — setting Colbert’s movie up to take us right into The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s likely the confrontation with the Barrow-wight will be exaggerated and expanded upon to make it more cinematic. This chapter should be the most memorable part of the movie though, unless the post-Return of the King framing has something more high stakes and interesting to offer.
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