Lord of the Rings Franchise | Movies, Pokies and now TV show

One of the most successful fantasy movie from Hollywood that resonated with the audience world over is Lord of the Rings. The book on which the movie is based is also one of the widely acclaimed books.

The franchise had 3 movies in the early and mid-2000s which was then followed by the Hobbit series in 2010s. The franchise has won a total of 21 Oscars and earned eternal love and respect from movie lovers.

And now there is news that LOTR fans will love. There is an upcoming TV show based on the franchise. While multiple studious fought for the Tv series right, Amazon Studios were the ones the bag it.

It signed a $250 million rights in November 2017 with J.R.R Tolkien’s estate, Newline Cinema, and publisher Harper Collins. It will have a multi-season Tv show.

Latest Developments

Interesting news for Kiwis as New Zealanders like to call themselves, the studio is on the lookout for people to fill certain roles for Hobbits, Elves, Dwarfs, Humans, Wizards, etc. There are already people flocking to the casting call that said they were looking for “funky looking” people.

There is no official release date yet but Amazon is required to start filming during the next two years post signing the contract. So the filming has started around November 2019. Recently Amazon executive Jennifer Salke said the production would commence in 2021, but some believe it will start even earlier.

Although season 1 is still under production, Jennifer said the writers who had written the first season have been retained for season 2.

The budget was estimated to be around $250 million as that was the amount when the contract was signed. But recent news put the budget to a whopping $1 billion which would make it the biggest in the television history.

Due to the hype around the show New Zealand is becoming increasingly popular. TV channels, Local newspapers, and media outlets have started putting out pop culture and other information regarding the show.

Just like the movies the TV show too would be shot entirely in New Zealand. The show runners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have confirmed this fact and stated that the country has all the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle Earth.

They said New Zealand is blessed with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains. The country is also home to some of the best studios and skilled individuals. The government too has been super supportive of the initiative and has helped the pre-production phase.

Initially, Scotland was considered as the location to shoot the TV series but due to the uncertainty in connection with Brexit and coronavirus outbreak forced the production team to reconsider. Amazon has also committed 5 seasons of Lord of the Rings TV series as part of the $250 million deal.

It was only going to be a matter of time before this franchise would be adapted for the online gambling world. The LOTR online pokies was introduced in and is  five reels game allowing you 243 ways to win. The production values are breathtaking and feature sound effects and dialogues lifted directly from the movies.

Also you will find all the main characters are symbols including the mighty Gandalf, Legolas, Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam and Frodo. Yes, Gollum makes an appearance as well in all his creepy glory! All in all, a great game that is available in the best online casinos in New Zealand. We highly recommend that you check out Jackpot City if you are looking to enjoy this game.