Warner Bros. has announced a new film set in the *Lord of the Rings* universe
News of the upcoming project emerged following a conversation between Peter Jackson and *The Late Show* host Stephen Colbert. A recording of the conversation was shared on Warner Bros.’ social media channels.
Stephen Colbert, his son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens are working on the film’s screenplay. A director for the new film has not yet been announced.
According to the AP, the film will be based on the first six chapters of the novel “The Fellowship of the Ring”, which were not fully explored in the 2001 film adaptation. According to Colbert, the new film will tell a standalone story that will remain faithful to both the original book and the existing films.
As noted, this concerns the opening part of the story, where events unfold from the moment Frodo leaves the Shire until his arrival in Bree. In the book, this section is much more detailed than in the film and includes an encounter with Tom Bombadil, who was absent from the film adaptation.
The new film will be the second announced project in this universe following “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum”. That film is directed by Andy Serkis, and its release was previously announced for December 2027.
Earlier, Elijah Wood, commenting on “The Hunt for Gollum”, did not explicitly confirm his return to the role of Frodo, but neither did he rule out the possibility.
As a reminder, the sci-fi film “Project Ave Maria”, produced by Amazon MGM and based on Andy Weir’s novel, grossed around $80.5 million in North America during its opening weekend. This result marked the best opening in Amazon MGM Studios’ history and placed the film among the most notable debuts in non-franchise cinema.
