I'm A Tolkien Super-fan. Here's Why I'm Cautiously Optimistic About Stephen Colbert's Lord Of The Rings Movie

New Line Cinema

It's been astir 25 years since Peter Jackson started releasing his epic, groundbreaking "Lord of nan Rings" trilogy, and Hollywood has not gotten tired of Middle-earth. Either Warner Bros. really hopes to reclaim immoderate of that saccharine "The Hobbit" money, aliases the caller authorities owners for "Lord of nan Rings" want to gain backmost their finance by immoderate means.

This is to say, we're getting much Middle-earth adventures. "The Lord of nan Rings: Shadows of nan Past" is simply a sequel group to reunite nan hobbits and has Stephen Colbert co-writing nan script. On paper, this sounds for illustration a horrible idea, being some a sequel to nan cleanable ending of nan movies but besides yet different broadside communicative based connected a fistful of passages.

And yet, I americium besides cautiously excited astir it. Put down your pitchforks and perceive maine out. I americium a J.R.R. Tolkien super-fan, and respect not only his world-building but his penning successful highly precocious regard. I americium besides a instrumentality of adaptations making bold choices successful bid to bring a communicative to a different mean (I unequivocally emotion nan Prime Video bid "The Rings of Power," which does this very well).

If you look past nan first skepticism of a caller "Lord of nan Rings" movie, location are really immoderate absorbing things astir this announcement — for illustration Stephen Colbert's engagement successful nan screenwriting. Colbert is simply a monolithic Tolkien clever clever and arguably nan astir knowledgeable super-fan successful Hollywood. The measurement he talks astir nan world makes it clear he doesn't conscionable cognize trivia and quotes, but really understands nan ideas and themes of nan books.

Though location are many reasons to beryllium concerned, starting pinch nan precocious anticipation of immoderate genuinely atrocious de-aging (or worse, AI), "Shadows of nan Past" could beryllium thing wholly caller to this franchise that is really overmuch person to Tolkien's writing.

New Line CInema

It's important to statement that "The Lord of nan Rings: Shadows of nan Past" is not precisely a caller adjustment of "The Fellowship of nan Ring," moreover if nan announcement makes it clear it will bring to nan surface chapters 3 done 7 of "The Fellowship of nan Ring" (which nan movies skipped). Instead, this is simply a sequel group 14 years aft Frodo journeyed West into nan Undying Lands. The movie, then, focuses connected Sam, Merry, and Pippin arsenic they group connected a travel retracing nan first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam's daughter, Elanor, discovers "a long-buried concealed and is wished to uncover why nan War of nan Ring was very astir mislaid earlier it moreover began."

We evidently don't cognize for definite really nan movie will play out, but it feels for illustration nan communicative could usage a communicative framing of nan older hobbits going down representation lane, while flashbacks show nan communicative of their younger days.

From a communicative perspective, there's perchance a batch to for illustration here. The chapters do show a alternatively complete and self-contained story, pinch threats, weird creatures, and nan quality of nan champion "Lord of nan Rings" characteristic Peter Jackson trim from nan movies, Tom Bombadil.

Having nan older hobbits reminiscing astir their younger days and nan commencement of their travel judge feels for illustration "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," an anime tailor-made for "Lord of nan Rings" fans. Indeed, "Frieren" is each astir retracing an aged escapade and an immortal elf being melancholic astir companions agelong gone and nan moments they shared. The communicative framing tin springiness this movie a melancholic tone, pinch nan characters talking astir amended days successful nan past, 2 things that are prevalent each passim "Lord of nan Rings."

New Line Cinema

One peculiarly absorbing point astir nan charismatic explanation of "The Lord of nan Rings: Shadows of nan Past" is nan spot astir Sam's girl discovering a "long-buried secret" astir really nan warfare was astir lost. In section 8, "Fog connected nan Barrow-Downs," there's a transition wherein Frodo is tempted to put connected nan One Ring and wantonness his friends to flight nan barrows connected his own. Ultimately, he prevails and fights nan temptation, but it's nan first large trial for Frodo arsenic a ringbearer.

In nan books, Frodo doesn't really show nan others astir what happens — but Gandalf finds retired because Frodo apparently talks successful his sleep. This could make for a fascinating communicative astir Sam's daughter, Elanor, discovering this concealed and her imagination of Frodo nan leader getting shattered. After all, arsenic awesome arsenic Peter Jackson's adjustment is, it does time off retired a batch of Frodo's large moments arsenic a hero, pinch Sam taking connected a much salient domiciled successful nan films (at slightest a much evident one). The thought of Frodo astir abandoning his friends but yet redeeming them (with nan thief of Tom Bombadil) could adhd extent to nan trilogy while making for a analyzable movie astir leader believe and nan cult of personality.

There's besides nan elemental truth that nan earliest chapters of "The Fellowship of nan Ring" are highly debased stakes and mini successful scope. Though it's difficult to ideate Warner Bros. salivating astatine nan thought of a battle-less "Lord of nan Rings," nan immense occurrence of HBO's "Game of Thrones" pared backmost prequel bid "A Knight of nan Seven Kingdoms" indicates audiences are unfastened to nan thought of small-scale imagination stories astir bully group connected mini adventures.