Crew members working on the upcoming Lord of the Rings show only learned about the production’s relocation moving to the UK 20 minutes before the news broke to the rest of the world. The new series is being produced by Amazon and has been in the works since the company acquired the rights back in 2017. The Lord of the Rings will once again revive J.R.R. Tolkien’s adventures of Middle-earth.
Although The Lord of the Rings is no stranger to theatrical productions, Amazon’s new tale will explore depths of Tolkien’s works that haven’t been seen before. Director Peter Jackson brought the novel to life with his work in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings theatrical trilogies. Amazon’s new series will not directly follow the beloved characters from Jackson’s rendition, but instead will explore the events of Middle-earth thousands of years prior to The Hobbit. According to recent news, the timeline will not be the only instance of how the show is diverging from Jackson's films. New Zealand has become synonymous with The Lord of the Rings. The country has been the centralized filming location for the movies since shooting first began for The Fellowship of the Ring, but that looks to be no longer the case.
In an unforeseen turn of events this week, Amazon announced production would be moved to the UK following the first season. According to Variety, even the crew was blindsided by the announcement and only had twenty minutes to digest the news before it broke to media outlets. Read below to see what David Strong, CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission, had to say about the move.
“It’s a shame and I feel for everyone who has put their hearts into this production. Season two was expected to begin later in 2022, so our role now is to work hard to keep the Kiwi screen sector employed."
Strong's disappointment and mention of how soon the second season will be shot is a reflection of how quickly the decision was made to relocate. New Zealand has heavily relied on the country's involvement with the original Lord of the Rings trilogy for advertisement purposes. Film sets like The Shire have become popular tourist attractions, so much so that they have been the focal point of several of New Zealand's travel marketing campaigns. The country will still be able to cling to the adventures of the hobbits, Bilbo Baggins, Frodo, and company but it will now have to compete with the UK for the attention of Tolkien pilgrims.
Amazon's sudden change in filming locations does make sense. The company already has several production bases in the UK and has been offered large tax credits there, too. New Zealand's Covid protocols may have played an additional role as well. The country's firm stance in heavily restricting international travel has the potential to create a lot of added hassle to the show's production. Audiences will get to experience The Lord of the Rings next year, as it is scheduled to be released on September 2.
Source: Variety