Stephen Colbert’s next big project after The Late Show cancellation may be in serious trouble.
Since MAGA-friendly David Ellison, 43, subsumed Paramount and Warner Bros. into his mammoth company Skydance, rumors have swirled that Colbert’s forthcoming Lord of the Rings movie has hit Ellison-induced roadblocks.
On Oct. 4, Knight Edge Media reported that while Skydance CEO David Ellison hasn’t fully canceled Colbert’s first major project since The Late Show, it has “hit major development speed bumps.” According to the article, the new studio doubts the franchise’s profitability, stalling the project. The article also said that the former Late Show host is still working on script drafts, but “filming isn’t expected anytime soon.”
Warner Bros. responded to Knight Edge, stating that the film is still in development. Other sources have also confirmed that the merger hasn’t affected the project, tentatively titled Shadow of the Past. Screen Rant’s Rob Keyes even posted on X that the rumors are “confirmed not accurate.”
“Status is exactly as it was weeks ago,” he wrote. “They’re still writing, no confirmed budget or shoot date, etc.”
Though Ellison hasn’t pulled Shadow of the Past, the rumors didn’t come from nowhere. In July 2025, he canceled The Late Show in a blatant display of loyalty to President Donald Trump, 80, whom Colbert, 62, spent night after night criticizing on-air. After the merger, Colbert is once again working under Ellison’s whims.
On Oct. 6, 2025, Ellison appointed the MAGA-curious Bari Weiss, 42, to helm CBS News. Since then, she’s tanked 60 Minutes ratings, promoted interviews with war-mongering Trump fanatics, and allegedly censored investigations of registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Colbert has been working on the Lord of the Rings script with his 29-year-old son, Peter McGee, and had just returned from New Zealand when he collected his Emmy Award for the Late Show’s final season last month.
“Literally, I woke up in New Zealand yesterday. I flew here for the Emmys,” Colbert said backstage at the ceremony. “I went from yesterday to tomorrow, so I don’t know how many days today has been. What did I say in my speech? I was hallucinating up there.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Stephen Colbert and Skydance for comment.
