The upcoming Lord of the Rings television series is moving production to the United Kingdom for its second season. According to Variety, filming for the Amazon series’ first season wrapped up on August 2nd. Post-production operations for season one will continue in New Zealand through June 2022. Pre-production will begin in the United Kingdom simultaneously after the new year begins.
The Variety article included a statement from Albert Cheng (Amazon Studios’ chief operating officer and co-head of TV). He expressed, “As we look to relocate the production to the U.K., we do not intend to actively pursue the Season One MoU five percent financial uplift with the New Zealand government or preserve the terms around that agreement, however we respectfully defer to our partners and will remain in close consultation with them around next steps.”
The second season of the unnamed Amazon Lord of the Rings series will be the first LOTR project not produced in New Zealand, Variety reports. Amazon currently has several other productions happening in the U.K. right now. These include Neil Gaiman’s two adaptations Anansi Boys and Good Omens.
Amazon’s vice president and co-head of TV Vernon Sanders also included a statement. “We want to thank the people and the government of New Zealand for their hospitality and dedication and for providing ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series with an incredible place to begin this epic journey.” He also expressed his gratitude towards the New Zealand Film Commission, Tourism New Zealand, Auckland Unlimited, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for their support during the production of season one.
Variety adds that recently Amazon revealed this Lord of the Rings show would premiere on September 2, 2022. Not many details are known about the plot as of now. However, the series will take place during the Second Age, a period occurring thousands of years before the events depicted in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. “New and familiar” characters will appear in the series as they “confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.”