As a self-professed Lord of the Rings superfan, Stephen Colbert just landed the gig of a lifetime...writing the next movie.

The news broke on Instagram where the official Lord of the Rings account shared a video from director Peter Jackson. He starts with an update on Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, another spinoff movie releasing next year, before talking about a new project that he needs a "special partner" to help announce.

In typical fandom fashion, Colbert enters the chat in an office decked out in Lord of the Rings art and collectibles and goes on to explain the project he's working on. 

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"You know what the books mean to me and what your films mean to me, but the thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in the Fellowship that y’all never developed into the first movie back in the day," Colbert says in the video. As of now, the project is titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past and it's being developed by Colbert and his son who is a screenwriter.

According to Deadline, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is "set 14 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."

By adapting these specific chapters, Colbert feels that the movie will remain faithful to both the book and original Fellowship of the Ring movie since the story takes place after the events of Jackson's trilogy. The movie will also include a fan-favorite character that never received any screentime before, Tom Bombadil. Fans are already excited about his inclusion.

"So they’re making a movie about Tom Bombadil and those chapters at the beginning of The Fellowship Of The Ring that never made it to the first movie? Sounds great," replied one superfan on the announcement post.

Colbert's love for The Lord of the Rings runs deep. He's hosted numerous Lord of the Rings Comic Con panels over the years, landed a cameo in the second Hobbit movie, and has even challenged his audience to ask him Lord of the Rings trivia on the spot which he nailed. 

He's now been given the keys to the property he loves most, which must come with its own challenges. In the video, Colbert tells Jackson he had to work up the courage to give him a call. Despite this, fans still believe he's the best to take over the reigns.

"I LOVE THIS!!!! This is exactly what I want @stephenathome to do after his show ends!! Embrace his nerdy side and use it for the best reasons possible!! Never did I imagine that would be WRITING a LOTR script!!!! SO EXCITED!!!!," replied another commentor. 

Colbert also joked how he would have "free time this Summer" as the Late Show comes to an end at the end of May, after it was cancelled by CBS recently. This new venture sounds like an exciting way to spend his retirement.