It seems as though there were a few locations vying for the honor to host the shooting of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show. We had already heard reports that suggested new studios in Scotland, as well as Belfast were in the running for this massive project. However, yesterday Amazon announced that they were officially going back to New Zealand to film the as yet untitled show.
In an official statement (courtesy of THR) showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick Mackay said,
“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. 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 preproduction 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 honestly felt that since this new series is set a long, long time before either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings that it could do with a different aesthetic from New Zealand, and when it comes to unspoiled coastlines and green land, then you don’t really have to look further than Scotland. Maybe I’m just slightly biased considering it is my home, but I really hoped that Scotland would get the nod on this one, I guess New Zealand were just able to offer a better overall package, and when you consider the increase in tourism that the movies brought to New Zealand, it’s really no wonder they’ll have gone all out to make sure they grabbed this.
Amazon’s show will be based on the events of the Second Age of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, though since that Age spans thousands of years, it’s tricky to get an exact timeline. Most fan guesses are heading towards the early parts of the Second Age when Sauron first concocted his plans with the Rings of Power. More than likely it will feature the forging of these Rings and the subsequent wars that result from that.
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Amazon have a pretty free reign to develop a story as long as they do not contradict anything of Tolkien’s work around the same period, or contradict events to come later in the War of the Ring. It’s definitely the fantasy series that I am most looking forward to of all the many IP’s that are being developed over the next few years. Amazon also has the rights to The Wheel of Time and will be developing both of these massive fantasy IP’s at the same time, while HBO are developing at least two prequel shows to Game of Thrones, and Netflix is pushing ahead with The Witcher. The Witcher being the farthest along, we should be expecting to see that hit Netflix sometimes this year according to recent reports.
Which fantasy show are you most looking forward to seeing, or is it a genre you just don’t care for? Let us know what you think in the usual spot below.
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