Earlier this month Amazon Prime Video showed off the first screenshot of the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show. The show, which has yet to be officially named, is due to focus on the first and second ages of Tolkien’s seminal work – most of which took place within the Silmarillion. The TV show follows the Academy Award-winning trilogy from New Line Cinema, directed by Peter Jackson. The TV show is going to make a big difference to the franchise, however.

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This week it was announced the second season of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings will be filmed in England.

The franchise has famously been situated in New Zealand since its inception, all the way through to the Hobbit films.

After this news broke, Wood commented on the drastic change of pace for the series.

Posting to his almost 1 million followers, the American star simply posted a facepalming emoji.

What do you think? Should Lord of the Rings be moved from New Zealand? Join the debate in the comments section here

Wood’s fans agreed with the star’s sentiments, with one writing: “Lord of the rings is synonymous with New Zealand. Granted didn’t you guys film stuff for the hobbit in England but it was interiors right?”

Another said: “It belongs to New Zealand and nowhere else. Please for the love of hobbits don’t let it get ruined.” (sic)

The Frodo actor’s reaction to the news mirrors the comments he made back in 2020 about the upcoming series.

When asked about the new season, he said: “They’re calling it The Lord of the Rings, but I think that’s slightly misleading.” (Via Indiewire)

Wood continued: “From what I understand, the material they are working on exists chronologically further back in history in the lore of Lord of the Rings or Middle-Earth than any characters represented in Lord of the Rings.”

At the moment the storyline of the upcoming series is shrouded in secrecy, so the connection – or lack thereof – to the Jackson trilogy is still unknown.

COO and co-head of TV for Amazon Studios Albert Cheng commented: “As we look to relocate the production to the UK, 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.”

Vernon Sanders, president and TV co-head of Amazon Studios added: “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.”

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Sanders went on: “We are grateful to the New Zealand Film Commission, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Tourism New Zealand, Auckland Unlimited, and others for their tremendous collaboration that supported the New Zealand film sector and the local economy during the production of Season One.”

Fronting the new TV show is Black Mirror star Will Poulter in a leading role.

Again, his position in the series is shrouded in mystery, but could indeed be that of a historic character from Tolkien’s works.

He is joined by Australian actor Markella Kavenagh in another mystery role.

The second age of the Lord of the Rings storyline involves Sauron taking on Numenor, one of the original kingdoms of men in Middle-Earth.

In Tolkien’s Silmarillion the century-spanning journey involves the rise to power of Sauron, his army, and the deceit used to acquire power.

The Lord of the Rings Amazon TV series is due for release on September 2, 2022.

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