Lord of the Rings TV Show Gets New Director For Next Four Episodes
Amazon Studios announces director Wayne Che Yip will continue the work of J.A. Bayona on its The Lord of the Rings series, helming the next four episodes. The upcoming show will not be an adaptation of the story in the books, but will rather be set in the Second Age, 3000 years before the events seen in the novels and movies. Production on The Lord of the Rings show has been going on in New Zealand, also the location for the original trilogy, as well as The Hobbit trilogy, since early 2020.
The Lord of the Rings series has set a massive ensemble cast could be the most expensive TV show ever made, with a cost rumored to be over $500 million, teasing a scale that is massive for a TV series. Despite little news on the show's actual plot or even the characters involved, there have been small dispatches from the production. The most recent was the revelation that actor Tom Budge is no longer involved with The Lord of the Rings, having exited after Amazon decided to go a different direction with his character. But now, some positive news has emerged with the name of the show's next director getting revealed on Wednesday.
Amazon Studios announced British Chinese director Yip will be helming the next four episodes of The Lord of the Rings show, taking over for Bayona, who helmed the first two. Yip has strong ties to Amazon Studios, having most recently directed episodes of its other massive fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, as well as directing episodes of the Nazi-hunting show Hunters. He has also previously worked on episodes of Doctor Who, Preacher, and the British version of Utopia. Yip says it is an "honor" to join the show and is keen to "humbly" help tell the story. You can read his full thoughts and take a look at a photo celebrating the announcement below:
It is a true honor to be invited into the world of Tolkien by J.D. & Patrick and Amazon Studios. Every day I look forward to working with the incredible team here in New Zealand as we humbly contribute to the legacy of the greatest stories ever told.
Yip's work on The Wheel of Time is most relevant to his hiring here, leading to the conclusion he must have impressed on the ambitious fantasy adaptation. It's also interesting to note he's been hired to helm four episodes, making it clear he's bringing a vision and tone to the series which ties in to what Bayona established on episodes one and two. More surprising, perhaps, is that the series is only a few episodes into production, a sign of just how intensive and high-budget it must be.
Hopefully it all comes together in a way that will resonate with audiences. As one of the most popular fantasy franchises of all time, The Lord of the Rings series comes with some high expectations. It's so highly anticipated in fact, that some have taken to creating stunning fan posters and fake titles for The Lord of the Rings, in the hopes of willing what they want the show to be into existence. The pressure is on Yip then, but with a strong TV background, there's little reason to think he'll be unable to rise to the occasion.
Source: Amazon Studios, The Lord of the Rings on Prime/Twitter