Amazon to Film Lord of the Rings Series in New Zealand

Amazon is going back to familiar territory to create Middle-Earth for its Lord of the Rings series: New Zealand. The Guardian reports that the series is set to film in the same country in which Peter Jackson’s blockbuster adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien books were shot.

The report notes that Scotland was considered as a location, and that the current uncertainty around Brexit may have been a factor. Lord of the Rings will reportedly be the most expensive series ever made, with a budget in the $800 million range. The series is not re-adapting the books, but instead going to the Second Age when the Rings of Power were forged. J.A. Bayona will direct multiple episodes of the series, which will explore new stories and characters. It does not yet have an official release date.