The Lord Of The Rings TV Series To Be Filmed In New Zealand

It was reported back in 2017 that Amazon has already acquired global TV rights for Lord of the Rings, closing to a massive deal said to be around $250 million. The company is set to release a prequel show based on J.R.R. Tolkien's outstanding fantasy novels.

Executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay released a statement regarding the prequel's filming location to make the "primordial beauty" of the Second Age of Middle-Earth brought to life.

The producers had a long journey after searching far and wide for the perfect place. Eventually, Payne and Mckay discovered that a place with such "pristine coasts, forest, and mountains" all the while having "world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff" would be in beautiful New Zealand.

This seems to be no surprise since Peter Jackson previously filmed all of his Lord of The Rings and Hobbit movies in the said country. With reports from io9 saying it would actually be more of a shock if the show didn't film there as New Zealand and Lord of the Rings "go together like Hobbits and hairy feet".

That being said, Amazon isn't planning on making remakes of the LOTR series seen in Jackson's movies. Although it will be set in a time period following The Fellowship of the Ring.

Reports around the series include how pricey the show is going to be. Seeing as this is a very popular and successful franchise, from the books up to the movies, it might be worth it after all. Amazon is also said to be building their own sets.

LOTR is rumored to have more than one show and that the deal requires Amazon to commit to five seasons. According to the press release "Pre-production has started, and production on the series will begin in Auckland in the coming months."

J.A. Bayona will direct the first two episodes, Payne and McKay will serve as executive producers and showrunners for the series.

Jeniffer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, aims for the company to air the show around 2021.

Also Read: Lord of the Rings Aragorn Star Reportedly Being Considered For Doctor Doom Role In MCU