I celebrated my 43rd birthday by braving the bitter Wisconsin cold to see "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy on the big screen again, for the first time in nearly 25 years. I fell in love with Tolkien as a college freshman, later than some, after I saw "Fellowship of the Ring" in the one-dollar discount theater ... 27 times.
I was mesmerized by Middle-earth, by the journey of Frodo, the bravery of Sam, the struggles of Aragorn to accept his past and his future. Then I read the books, and my fandom was sealed. Many years later, I got a tattoo commemorating my love of the series, so it is literally a part of me, and last summer, I took part in an oral Tolkien project at Marquette University in Wisconsin, where a massive collection of over 11,000 J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts and other items is part of its archive. My comments will remain forever in the archive, along with hundreds of others.
Yesterday was also the day, in Middle-earth lore, on which Frodo finally cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, ending Sauron's threat of evil once and for all. So imagine my dismay to learn that Stephen Colbert is heading up another "Lord of the Rings" project.
NEW 'LORD OF THE RINGS' MOVIE
— Variety (@Variety) March 25, 2026
Stephen Colbert is co-writing "The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past" (working title), which will go into production after "The Hunt for Gollum."
The synopsis: "Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo - Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to… pic.twitter.com/d4yv2eoZFX
The late-night host said that after coming up with this idea, he discussed it with his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, and worked out a “framing device” for the film. After the groundwork was laid, Colbert called Jackson, and over the last two years, they’ve worked with screenwriter Philippa Boyens to develop a script.
The film’s official logline reads, “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.”
This new “Lord of the Rings” project marks Colbert’s first foray into blockbuster development. However, it is not his first collaboration with Jackson. Colbert had a small role in 2013’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” He also directed Jackson, as well as “Lord of the Rings” stars Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood, in the 2019 short film “Darrylgorn,” which is set in JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Despite my fandom, I have refused to watch Amazon's abortion of a "Lord of the Rings" project, "The Rings of Power." Between the woke, diverse Hobbits and the girl-boss Galadriel, it was insulting to the memory of Tolkien, the spirit of the works, and good taste in general.
Take, for example, this exchange from "The Fellowship of the Ring," which varies slightly between the movie and the book:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
That quote has inspired many, and gotten me through some very difficult times.
Compare it to this gem, from Season One of "Rings of Power," however: "Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot? Because the stone only sees downward ... the ship ... has a secret ... it's gaze is not downward but up. Fixed upon the light that guides it."
No, a stone sinks because it's a stone, and denser than water. A boat floats because it displaces enough water to equal its own weight.
For years, Tolkien and "Lord of the Rings" has been under attack by the Left. It's considered a book only "Right-wing extremists" read, and classified as "racist" because the Orcs have dark skin. That is not true, of course. The Orcs were dark-skinned because they were the embodiment of evil, from deep in the bowels of the earth. Race, as we understand it, had nothing to do with it. It's a revealing insight into the minds of Leftist that they see the embodiment of evil and apply a racial lens to it, however. But I digress.
And given Colbert's Leftist, woke bona fides, there's no reason to believe he won't continue the work that Amazon started with "Rings of Power" — the destruction of Tolkien and his opus on the altar of DEI. The bad guy will undoubtedly be a thinly-veiled reference to President Trump, and it's clear Sam's daughter is going to be the next girl-boss. A boring, one-dimensional character who is flawless, smarter, and better than the men around her — including her own father, who walked into Mordor, and the two Hobbits who helped overthrow Saruman and saved the Shire after the scourging — and we're just expected to lap it up.
I have long argued that the Left, because they cannot create, has decided to take pleasure in destroying the things beloved by people like me. This includes "Lord of the Rings," which should be left alone, because it's clear no one currently operating has the respect for or the knowledge of the source materials to do the stories justice.
Rather than greenlighting this project, Warner Bros. should heed the advice of Elrond: cast it into the fire. Destroy it.
