What’s next for Stephen Colbert after ‘The Late Show’?

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Stephen Colbert’s final “Late Show” broadcast on Thursday will close out his run in the storied CBS late-night chair once occupied by David Letterman. What comes next remains an open question for one of television’s most prominent entertainers.

In the months leading up to his CBS farewell, Colbert has offered glimpses of his post-“Late Show” future while sidestepping other possibilities. He has announced at least one major project, left the door open to creating another show and repeatedly dismissed one of the more far-fetched ideas floated by fans.

But Colbert has barely had time to plan his next moves because, as he told The New York Times in April, hosting the CBS late-night show “takes all my time.”

Colbert heads to Middle-earth

For now, the clearest answer concerns hobbits.

Colbert has confirmed that he is co-writing a new “Lord of the Rings” movie for Warner Bros. alongside his son, Peter McGee.

Colbert announced the project in March alongside Peter Jackson, the director of the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” trilogies, saying the movie would draw from “the six chapters early on in ‘The Fellowship’” that Jackson did not adapt in the original trilogy.

Colbert’s “Lord of the Rings” project predates the CBS decision to end “The Late Show.” Colbert said in the announcement that he had first approached Jackson about the idea two years earlier.

Jackson confirmed that detail during a recent interview with Variety at the Cannes Film Festival, saying Colbert had called him “before he knew his show was going to finish” to discuss “an idea for a Tolkien movie based on the books.”

Staying in show biz

Colbert has also suggested that he wants to keep making television, though he has not committed to a specific format.

“I could see creating a show,” Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter in early May. “But I don’t know what form it would take. I’m still doing this show.”

In a November interview with GQ, Colbert made clear he has not fantasized about walking away from show business altogether. “No,” he said. “Because I love creating things and I still want to work with the people I work with.”

Colbert added: “I just love making things.”

Other opportunities

Colbert has said he’s received offers for new work, but that he has not been ready to seriously consider them while finishing “The Late Show.”

“People have called to say, ‘Do you want to do X, Y or Z?’ And I would say, like: ‘Hey, that’s great. I don’t think I could give you a good answer until I can really think about it,’” Colbert told The Times last month.

Colbert has not announced plans to appear on other late-night comedy shows, though he remains close with several of his peers — and so a future sit-down wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver teamed up in 2023 for the limited-series podcast “Strike Force Five,” and several of them have publicly criticized CBS’ decision to end Colbert’s show. The group also recently reunited on “The Late Show.”

Neither Kimmel nor Fallon is scheduled to host their respective shows on Thursday, the night Colbert closes out “The Late Show.”

What Colbert won’t do

One path fans shouldn’t expect from Colbert is a comedy tour.

“It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do a live show at some point, but it’s not like I’m going to go out tomorrow and do a tight 10 at Zanies,” Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter. “That hasn’t been my life, and it would be a big thing for me to do now.”

That makes sense given Colbert’s background. His comedy roots are largely in improvisational theater, which “is collaborative in its nature,” he told THR, “and all the shows that I’ve done have been collaborative.”

Running for office

Colbert has been more definitive about one frequently floated idea: public office.

Fans have often suggested Colbert run for president. The idea has followed him in part because of his sharp criticism of modern politics and his highly publicized, satirical 2008 bid for the Oval Office while hosting Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”

During an early-May conversation with Barack Obama, Colbert said, “a lot of people tell me I should run for president,” later calling the idea “stupid.”

He asked Obama how “dumb” the suggestion was, and the former president replied, “Well, you know, the bar has changed.” Colbert conceded, through laughter, “That is true.”

Colbert has outright dismissed the idea before, telling Slate’s “Political Gabfest” last year, “Absolutely not. Yeah, absolutely, I should not run for president.”

Immediate plans

Before any next act takes shape, Colbert appears headed for a family weekend of celebration.

Earlier this week, his youngest son, John, graduated from Yale University. And after Thursday’s broadcast, Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter, his entire family is headed to Washington, DC, for his brother Tommy’s wedding.

Colbert’s longtime manager, James Dixon, did not respond to a request for comment.

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