Just a week after expressing his love for Hobbits, Stephen Colbert is well on his way to becoming a citizen of Hobbiton.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern posted a photo to Twitter on Thursday afternoon, showing her holding citizenship papers outside one of the tourist attraction's iconic circular doors.
"Stopped by Hobbiton today to discuss your citizenship," she wrote in a tweet to Colbert. "Ready when you are."
She discussed the possibility of citizenship with the late night host during last week's appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Colbert confessed to Ms Ardern that he was "a little bit obsessed" with the films and books of Middle-earth, and expressed his amazement that she grew up near Hobbiton.
She replied that the people who run the Hobbiton film set had offered Colbert citizenship to the fictional town, where much of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies were filmed.
"So come to New Zealand, we'll make the ceremony official," she said.
Ms Ardern has made good on her promise, signing the beautifully designed piece of paper that will grant Colbert citizenship.
The paperwork was written up by official Lord of the Rings calligrapher Daniel Reeve, who was responsible for the iconic font used in all three of the films as well as The Hobbit franchise.
The ball is now in Colbert's court. Only time will tell if he was serious enough about citizenship to make the long journey to New Zealand and attend what will no doubt be a prestigious ceremony.
Newshub.
