Stephen Colbert’s Dream Lord of the Rings Story Is Finally Happening in The Rings of Power

If you thought we were finished wringing stories out of Middle-earth, think again. The Lord of the Rings seems to be everywhere at the moment—Andy Serkis is both directing and playing Gollum in 'The Hunt for Gollum', taking us right back to the timeline of Peter Jackson's early 2000s film trilogy. And then, there's Stephen Colbert: late-night host and walking Tolkien encyclopaedia, who’s working up his own version of events with 'The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past'. Colbert’s film will revisit several chapters from 'The Fellowship of the Ring' that Jackson didn’t touch—yes, including the bits with Tom Bombadil, that absolute oddball of Middle-earth lore.

The Film Colbert Really Wants to See

Here’s something for the pub quiz: Colbert’s Tolkien obsession runs so deep he can break out passionate, highly detailed lectures on the books with zero notice. That more or less happened live on stage at the Montclair Film Festival in 2015, when he was up there with director J.J. Abrams. Someone in the crowd asked Colbert which Lord of the Rings story he’d like to see Abrams direct. Without missing a beat, Colbert blurted out: 'I would ask him to make what’s called Akallabêth'.

Let’s unpack that—as this is not your garden variety Tolkien stuff. Akallabêth is a meaty 20-odd page segment buried in 'The Silmarillion'. This is Tolkien at his most biblical, telling the tale of the rise and, more importantly, the cataclysmic fall of Númenor—a legendary island civilisation set way before Frodo, Aragorn, or any of our usual suspects show up.

'The Númenóreans are so powerful they basically stroll up to Mordor and demand Sauron hand himself in—which, impressively, he actually does. But then, instead of being locked away, Sauron gets carted off to Númenor and proceeds to corrupt the whole lot of them, turning this proud people into zealots hell-bent on worshipping darkness. The gods of the world (the Valar), and their boss Eru Ilúvatar, finally have enough and quite literally sink the entire island. Only a handful escape—they become the ancestors of the folk of Gondor and the rest is, well, Lord of the Rings history.'

For Colbert, it’s the perfect Tolkien story: dark magic, overreaching mortals, entire civilisation destroyed for its arrogance. As he puts it, 'If anybody makes anything in The Silmarillion, it should be that one.' Frankly, he’s got a point.

How Close Are We to Seeing Númenor Go Under?

Now, it’s not just Colbert who’s obsessed—Amazon's 'The Rings of Power' has spent two seasons poking around Númenor, dropping increasingly unsubtle hints that the place is doomed. Case in point: in the first season, Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) has a vivid vision of a tidal wave flattening the island. Cheery stuff.

Here’s what we know about the upcoming third season (premiering 11 November): it opens with a time jump, plunging us headfirst into all-out war between Sauron and the Elves. If the show is sticking broadly to the book’s timeline, at some point Númenor is meant to roll up in Middle-earth style, show everyone who’s boss, and take Sauron prisoner. But if you’re expecting the actual drowning of Númenor in season 3, don’t hold your breath. With five seasons apparently planned, I’d wager that particular disaster is being saved for season 4—just in time for the grand finale with the Last Alliance and the final Sauron showdown in season 5. Mind you, I’m making an educated guess—Amazon are playing this close to the chest.

A Quick Refresher: The Rights Headache

If you’re hoping Hollywood will just whip up a Númenor movie and call it done, well, prepare yourself for a properly tangled legal web. Here’s the gist, and it's a mess:

• The Tolkien Estate owns 'The Silmarillion' (which contains the original Akallabêth story)—and has never sold the rights to anyone.
• Embracer Group holds movie rights to 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings', and licenses those out to Warner Bros. Discovery. That’s how films like 'The Hunt for Gollum' and 'Shadows of the Past' are happening.
• Amazon has TV rights to 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings', plus access to those chunky appendices at the back of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy—which provide basic bullet-point histories of the Second Age. 'The Rings of Power' is piecing together the story from the appendices, not directly from 'The Silmarillion', with plenty of made-up bits sprinkled throughout.

In short: no one currently holds the right to make a proper Akallabêth film. Warner Bros. Discovery might be able to hash one together using only the appendices, but it would get tricky—especially since Amazon is already covering similar ground on TV. Until the legal lines are redrawn (don’t hold your breath), if you want to watch Númenor sink, your best bet is sticking with 'The Rings of Power'.

In the meantime, whether you’re a Colbert-level Tolkien nerd or just fancy seeing a bit of fantasy carnage, rest assured: Númenor is heading for the bottom of the sea, and we’ll all be there, popcorn in hand, to watch it unfold on screen—eventually.