Just a few days ago we learned the release date of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, and today it surprises us with an important change for season 2.
One of the keys to the success of Peter Jackson movies from The Lord of the Rings, It was his filming in New Zealand. The unique landscapes, with native trees and plants, and the spectacular orography, as befits a remote island, gave Middle-earth a real, but at the same time magical and different aspect.
When Amazon announced its Lord of the Rings series, also confirmed that it would be shot in the same landscapes of New Zealand. And surely that is the reason why it has become the most expensive series in history, with a budget of $ 465 million in its first season.
To put it in perspective, the most expensive season of Game of Thrones cost $ 90 million. Each season of The Mandalorian costs $ 100 million, and the first season of WandaVision is around $ 225 million.
Some days ago Amazon showed the first image of the series, which you can see in the opening photo. And there New Zealand landscapes are back in their full splendor.
That is why today’s announcement in Press release: Season 2 of the Amazon Lord of the Rings series moves from New Zealand to the UK. How?
The reaction of Elijah Wood, Frodo in the films of Peter Jackson, has not been long in coming: patting of despair on the forehead:
It’s a sentiment that most fans surely share.
This is a surprising announcement, because open landscapes and scenery are a must-have component in all JRR Tolkien stories, and if this season 2 continues this tradition, British landscapes are going to be different from those of New Zealand.
Amazon justifies this change, because it wants to enhance its British studies: “The move from New Zealand to the UK aligns with the studio’s strategy of expanding its production footprint and investing in studio space across the UK, with many of Amazon Studios’ series and films already home.“
An explanation that does not finish convincing. Surely the very high cost of time and money involved in filming in New Zealand also has something to do with it.
Although for now it is called The Lord of the rings, the series will have nothing to do with the book, as it will pass “thousands of years before“. With characters.”both familiar and new, as they face the much-feared reappearance of evil in Middle-earth“, as the official review explains.
So it will be closer to other Tolkien works like The Silmarillion.
This new epic series from Amazon will premiere on September 2, 2022.