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Lord of the Rings series should resume filming in September as planned

By Alexandria Ingham

PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 20: In this photo illustration, the Amazon Prime video media service provider's logo is displayed on the screen of an Apple MacBook computer on November 20, 2019 in Paris, France. Amazon Prime video is a major player in streaming as its competitors, Disney, Netflix, Disney +, HBO and Apple TV. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 20: In this photo illustration, the Amazon Prime video media service provider's logo is displayed on the screen of an Apple MacBook computer on November 20, 2019 in Paris, France. Amazon Prime video is a major player in streaming as its competitors, Disney, Netflix, Disney +, HBO and Apple TV. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) /
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Lord of the Rings is among the shows granted border exemptions

Lord of the Rings was shut down early due to the coronavirus, but it wasn’t a major concern. The Amazon Original series already had a planned break coming up, with the expectation to pick up again in September.

However, the September return date has started to look questionable. New Zealand acted quickly to deal with the coronavirus, which included shutting down the borders tightly. With the show filming there but with an out-of-country cast and crew, it put the future of the show in jeopardy.

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There’s now some great news. According to Deadline, Lord of the Rings is among the list of shows granted border exemptions. That means despite the borders being closed, those filming will be able to fly into the country.

There will be strict protocols, but it’s better than not filming at all. It’s limited to the filming cast and crew only and a small number of family members. Everyone will also have to self-quarantine as soon as they get into the country.

A small change to the filming plan

Lord of the Rings was set to stop filming after the first two episodes. With changes to the cast, it allowed time for everyone to look over the first two episodes and make sure they were allowing the story to head in the right direction.

This would allow time to refilm anything if necessary and make changes to the future episodes should the story head in a new direction. The show was close to finish filming the second episode in March when production was shut down. It would have then gone on a six-month break.

There’s a good chance that enough of the first two episodes were filmed to assess them. The work that was supposed to happen during the break could still continue.

So far, New Zealand has almost been able to eradicate the virus. The strict border rules remain in place to ensure that is the case. Border exemptions are needed for any show that plans to film in New Zealand, which Lord of the Rings has been able to gain.

Unless there is a major lockdown in the country or a huge spike in cases, there shouldn’t be a problem with Lord of the Rings not remaining on schedule. We still don’t have a release date for it, but it’s likely to be 2022.

Next. Amazon confirms the Lord of the Rings cast. dark

What do you hope to see in the Lord of the Rings series? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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