The TV series will be in the same fictional universe created by author JRR Tolkien, who published the series at intervals between 1954 and 1955.
The upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series is set to be the largest television series ever made. It was reported that Amazon Studios is spending around $465 million, on just one season of the fantasy series – far more than previous record-breaking estimates.
The production figure is massive and likely the largest sum any studio has spent to produce a single season of television.
The figures, released as part of the New Zealand government’s Official Information Act, were first reported by the New Zealand-based outlet Stuff. Its report indicated that Amazon is looking to film five seasons in the country and possibly produce a spinoff series.
Amazon’s spending in New Zealand will trigger a tax rebate of around $114m and has been flagged as a “significant financial risk” by the country’s treasury. There’s no cap on how much Amazon is allowed to spend, and therefore, New Zealand could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to help subsidize the project.
However, the production will likely bring a large financial boost to the local economy, as Amazon pays for local labour, hotels and food, among other things. Then there is the future tourism bump. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies were a big boon to New Zealand, as they brought in travellers from around the world.
The Lord of the Rings series is currently in production and expected to debut in late 2021.
