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Per Deadline, the working title of the upcoming film is The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. And Colbert is penning the project alongside Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee. Despite Colbert being a surprising pick, he’s a huge Lord of the Rings fan, suggesting he’ll bring a necessary passion to the project. That isn’t preventing backlash in response to the initial X announcement, though, indicating many fans aren’t thrilled with the idea.
While some reactions, like that of Cinema Tweets, question “what qualifies” Colbert to write the script, other complaints take aim at the story itself. Fans are taking issue with the sequel approach, suggesting that the perspective of Sam’s daughter isn’t one they’re particularly interested in. There are also concerns about the value of revisiting the trilogy from a new lens, which echo the biggest worries about The Hunt for Gollum.
Returning to the trilogy is especially frustrating for some, when Tolkien has so many other stories and ideas to tap into. The author never wrote a sequel to Lord of the Rings, much less one focused on Sam’s daughter, so it seems odd to opt for a wholly original tale when Middle-earth has so many to choose from. (The fact that Warner Bros. doesn’t have the rights to The Silmarillion complicates matters, however.)
And on Reddit, users are bringing up the issue of turning six book chapters into a feature-length story — something that user PhysicsEagle notes is a bigger stretch than The Hunt for Gollum:
“Has Colbert ever written anything aside from television sketches? Also, how in the world are they turning Fog on the Barrow-Downs into a feature length film? We thought Hunt for Gollum was reaching for scraps…”
While the negative responses are overwhelming, they aren’t the only ones present. Some fans are optimistic about the idea, while others have faith in Colbert’s creative abilities (even if the story is iffy).
“Ok I won’t lie I’d probably trust Stephen Colbert to write a LOTR movie more than anyone outside of Peter Jackson,” Aldanil66 wrote on Reddit. And Redditor MRT2797 proved the idea isn’t outlandish to everyone: “Might be naive of me to say so, but I kind of like this idea.”
Ultimately, the new Lord of the Rings film’s success will likely come down to how the material is handled. There’s little doubt Colbert is knowledgeable and passionate enough for the job, but whether that amounts to a good movie remains to be seen. The divided reactions indicate a bigger challenge for Warner Bros. and LOTR, though, which goes back to The Hobbit trilogy.
The Response to the New Lord of the Rings Movie Signals a Bigger Franchise Problem
The backlash to Colbert’s Lord of the Rings film signals a larger issue with the franchise: the waning trust among viewers. Although Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies are regarded as some of fantasy’s finest, the recent adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work aren’t as universally beloved. Even The Hobbit trilogy has its critics, despite each of the movies hovering around the $1 billion mark at the box office.
