Elijah Wood has responded to news that the upcoming Lord Of The Rings television show is moving its production from New Zealand to the UK.
The new show, which is being made by Amazon, is shifting production from New Zealand to the UK. While the first season was shot on location in New Zealand, the second season, which is expected to stream in 2022, will be shot on location in the UK.
The news has been met with disappointment from fans of the books of JRR Tolkien, as well as Peter Jackson’s films, which were set and shot respectively in New Zealand. Many fear it will lead to an over-reliance on CGI to capture the vast settings found in the original books.
Now, Wood, who starred in Jackson’s films, has added his opinion to the decision.
Writing on Twitter, Wood shared the news along with a face-palm emoji, seemingly expressing his disappointment.
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) August 12, 2021
The change of location is significant given how intrinsic New Zealand has been to Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, alongside the first season of the show.
According to Amazon, the move “aligns with the studio’s strategy of expanding its production footprint and investing in studio space across the UK, with many of Amazon Studios’ tentpole series and films already calling the UK home”.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the New Zealand government is “disappointed” with the decision. Economic development minister Stuart Nash said that the country’s film industry was “incredibly competitive and highly mobile”.
Post-production on season one of Lord Of The Rings will continue in New Zealand until June 2022. It will premiere on Prime Video a few months later on September 2. The show’s official first image and release date were revealed earlier this month.
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