Amazon's LORD OF THE RINGS Series Will Shoot in New Zealand Because New Zealand is Middle Earth
Amazon Studios has announced that The Lord of the Rings series that they are currently developing will shoot in New Zealand, which is where Peter Jackson filmed his adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth novels. New Zealand is Middle Earth, so it makes sense that they would want to shoot there.
Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had this to say in a 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.”
I wonder if this means that Peter Jackson’s VFX house Weta will be working on the series as well, but that remains to be seen. It would be pretty cool if they were involved and if Jackson did help out in some capacity. One thing’s for sure, the setting for the film is going to be beautiful.
Payne and McKay (Star Trek 4) are writing the series and the first two episodes will be directed by J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). The series will explore new and different storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Not a lot of casting has been announced, but Will Poulter (Midsommar, The Maze Runner) and Markella Kavenagh (Picnic at Hanging Rock) are the first two actors set to star.
As far as the story goes, we don’t know much, but the show’s official Twitter account sent out an image of a map teasing the setting along with two messages: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,” as well as “Welcome to the Second Age.”
In the Tolkien mythology, the Second Age was the time in which the Rings of Power, including Sauron’s One Ring, came into existence. It was also teased that the film could involve the island of Numenor.
Numenor was a kingdom of men established on an island brought up out of the sea by the Valar in the early Second Age after the final ruin of Beleriand, and was where the Númenoreans originated from. It was a “gift to Men.” It was also called Elenna or the Isle of Elenna ("Starwards") because the Dúnedain were led to it by the star of Eärendil, and because the island was in the shape of a five-pointed star.”
The men of Numenor lived in peace, and they were forbidden by the Valar “from sailing so far westward that Númenor was no longer visible, for fear that they would come upon the Undying Lands, to which men could not come.”
They ended up resenting Valar and their ban, and the Númenóreans wanted to break free and explore the world and wanted everlasting life. “They tried to compensate this by going eastward and colonizing large parts of Middle-earth, first in a friendly way, but later as tyrants. Soon the Númenóreans came to rule a great but terrorizing maritime empire that had no rival, but a few (the Faithful) remained loyal to the Valar and friendly to the elves.”
They ended up taking over sections of Middle Earth, and with Sauron on the rise, Numenor would meet its tragic downfall down the line, but its survivors would go on to create the kingdoms of Armor and Gondor.
Source: Deadline