Amazon's 'The Lord of the Rings' TV series heads back to New Zealand to bring Middle-earth to life
Amazon Studios revealed the "Lord of the Rings" TV series will film in New Zealand. As reported by TheWrap, it also added that “pre-production has started, and production on the series will begin in Auckland in the coming months.”
Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay released the following statement: "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."
"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."
The decision doesn't really hit up as a surprise considering that New Zealand is closely tied to adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels, as the Peter Jackson-directed “LOTR” film trilogy was famously shot in New Zealand.
The upcoming Prime Video series “set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,” according to Amazon. Payne and McKay, who helped write the 2016 sci-fi sequel 'Star Trek Beyond', will serve as showrunners and executive producers. Joining the EPs list will be J.A. Bayona (Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom) who will also direct the first two episodes and also serve as executive producer with his producing partner Belen Atienza.
Other executive producers include Lindsey Weber ('10 Cloverfield Lane'), Bruce Richmond ('Game of Thrones'), Gene Kelly ('Boardwalk Empire'), Sharon Tal Yguado, Amazon's former head of genre programming, Gennifer Hutchison ('Breaking Bad'), Jason Cahill ('The Sopranos') and Justin Doble ('Stranger Things').