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Amazon’s Lord of the Rings to film in NZ

Production on blockbuster drama to begin in New Zealand in the coming months.

Amazon Studios has announced today that upcoming drama The Lord of the Rings will shoot in New Zealand, the same country where Peter Jackson’s trilogy filmed.

Pre-production has started, and production will begin in Auckland in the coming months. Amazon greenlit the series in 2017 in its push to mirror the success of blockbusters like Game of Thrones.

“As we searched for the location in which we could bring to life the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle-earth, we knew we needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff. And we’re happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series based on stories from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings,” said showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

“We are grateful to the people and the government of New Zealand and especially Auckland for supporting us during this pre-production phase. The abundant measure of Kiwi hospitality with which they have welcomed us has already made us feel right at home, and we are looking forward to deepening our partnership in the years to come.”

Set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.  J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom) will direct the first two episodes and also serve as executive producer, alongside his partner Belén Atienza. Executive Producers are Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire), Sharon Tal Yguado, Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad), Jason Cahill (The Sopranos), and Justin Doble (Stranger Things).

Casting is yet to be announced.

One Response

  1. It’s curious though that Peter Jackson’s Weta Studios isn’t mentioned, the Weta storehouses in Wellington must be full of Lord of the Rings props and most of the CGI developed for the movies must still be on file.

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