Stephen Colbert is poking fun at fan speculation about his next career venture.
As the host, 61, prepares for the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026 â following the shocking news of its cancellation â he used a recent episode to address âinternet rumorsâ that âcontinue to run wildâ regarding what’s next for him.
âI’ve heard a lot of theories â everything from I’m moving to CNN to I’m announcing a massive wildlife rescue program to I’m running for president of the United States,â Colbert said on Thursday, April 23. âNow, here’s the thing. I can reveal right now that all of those are partially true.â
âNext year, I will be president of an animal sanctuary dedicated to caring for the rare Blitzer Wolf,â Colbert teased, jokingly referring to CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer. âIt’s a captive breeding program. Nobody tell him.”
Colbert then playfully “put all these rumors to rest” and debuted a fake TV project featuring John C. Reilly.
It was announced in July 2025 that The Late Show would be concluding a decade after Colbert took over the hosting role in September 2015 following David Lettermanâs departure. The final episode is set to air on Thursday, May 21.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/stephen-colbert-100125-04d44a59b8c0420c90922d3fc857db1e.jpg)
While Colbertâs skit may not have been serious, he did reveal his next big project in March. At the time, Colbert shared via the Warner Bros. social media accounts that he will be writing a new Lord of the Rings film that he and his son, Peter Colbert, pitched to Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson two years prior.
The two discussed the news in a video announcement in honor of Tolkein Reading Day, with Colbert admitting, âIâm pretty happy about it.â
A longtime Lord of the Rings super-fan, Colbert further explained that the idea for upcoming film began when he found himself re-reading early chapters from J.R.R. Tolkeinâs 1954 book, The Fellowship of the Ring, which Jackson chose not to include in his hit 2001 blockbuster film of the same name.
âItâs, basically, the chapter is âThree Is Companyâ through âFog on the Barrow-Downs,â and I thought, âOh wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story? Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books, while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?ââ Colbert said.
He added, âI started talking it over with my son, Peter, who is also a screenwriter, and we worked out what we thought would work, especially as a framing device for that story.â
Elsewhere during his latest episode, Colbert announced that he’ll be conducting what will likely be The Late Show‘s final interview with former president Barack Obama on Tuesday, May 5. The conversation will mark Obama’s first interview from the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Colbert revealed.
