Tolkien fans are incredibly excited about the forthcoming “The Lord of the Rings” TV series. Not only is it an extension of the beloved Peter Jackson films, but it’s also going to explore a time in Middle-earth that has yet to be seen on screen. And when it was announced, it was clear Amazon was committing quite a bit of resources to the series, as it was guaranteed at least two seasons. But boy, oh boy, we had no idea just how costly this show would become.
READ MORE: Wayne Che Yip To Direct Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series
While various reports have come out about how much Amazon is actually spending to bring “The Lord of the Rings” to streaming audiences, it appears New Zealand’s Minister for Economic Development and Tourism, Stuart Nash, has spilled the beans. And you better believe, it’s a dump truck filled with beans.
“But what I can tell you is Amazon is going to spend about $650 million [in New Zealand currency] in season one alone,” Nash said in an interview with Morning Report (via THR). “I think what we have got out of Amazon in terms of the MOU and the industry and how we’re going to train people and our ability to use footage for tourism, the ability to leverage off a lot of what Amazon is doing, is fantastic.”
For those that can’t do the exchange in their head, $650 million in New Zealand dollars roughly equals $465 million in US dollars. So, for one season of TV, it’s hard to imagine any other show coming close to that sort of number. I mean, we’re talking the same budget for roughly three major studio blockbuster films.
As mentioned, when the “Lord of the Rings” series was originally announced, it was reported that the deal would include at least two seasons of the show and a massive payout to the Tolkien estate worth hundreds of millions of dollars. All told, people assumed they were talking close to $1 billion for everything, including multiple seasons of episodes. But when just one season is roughly half-a-billion dollars, who knows exactly how much Jeff Bezos and his tech company are forking over. But then again, $465 million is a drop in the bucket when you consider how much money Amazon has, so we shouldn’t worry about the company bankrupting itself for a Middle-earth series.
“The Lord of the Rings” comes from showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, with JA Bayona and Wayne Che Yip directing the series. Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Joseph Mawle, and a ton of other actors are in the massive ensemble cast. There is no official release date set for “The Lord of the Rings,” but many are expecting it to debut before the end of 2021. And when it does debut, it better look really fucking pretty.
