Amazon moves Lord of the Rings show from New Zealand to UK

Production of the new Lord of the Rings television series will move to the UK from New Zealand, Amazon Studios confirmed.

The fantasy epic is set thousands of years before the events in JRR Tolkien’s books ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’. It is a major blow for New Zealand’s entertainment industry where the award-winning films were filmed.

UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden welcomed the decision. He said: “Thousands of high quality jobs all across the UK will be created and supported by The Lord of the Rings television series so this is very exciting news.”

Amazon Studios, the film and TV arm of the technology giant, has already spent $465m (£336.5m) on the first season. It said the shift in locations was part of a plan to expand its production space and consolidate its footprint in the UK. The first season of the show will finish filming in New Zealand and will be shown on Amazon Prime in September 2022. Production will then move to the UK and four more seasons of the show are expected to be made.

New Zealand’s economic development minister Stuart Nash said the government was “disappointed” by the decision. In April, the New Zealand government had granted Amazon Studios extra subsidies on its production. Amazon was already receiving a 20% rebate on its expenses for filming The Lord of the Ring series in New Zealand before the government added an extra 5%.

At the time, Mr Nash said the agreement with Amazon generated “local jobs and creates work for local businesses” and would “enable a new wave of international tourism branding and promotion for this country”.

Commenting on the decision to move production from New Zealand, Mr Nash said the country’s film industry was “incredibly competitive and highly mobile. We have no regrets about giving this production our best shot with government support,” he said.

Amazon said it would not “actively pursue” the additional 5% subsidy it had been granted.