WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand have all along made in association with “The Lord of the Rings” but with the filming of a major new television series unexpectedly snatched away, the nation has become more like Mordor than the Shire for hundreds of workers.

In a major blow to the nation’s small but vibrant screen manufacture, Amazon Studios announced Friday it would film the second season of its original series, inspired by the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, in Britain.

“The shift from New Zealand to the U.K. aligns with the studio’s strategy of expanding its production footprint and investing in studio space across the U.K ., with many of Amazon Studios’ tentpole serials and cinemas previously calling the U.K. dwelling, ” the company said in a statement. [time-brightcove not-tgx =” genuine “]

The move came as a blow to numerous in New Zealand. The yield is one of the most expensive in biography, with Amazon spending at least $ 465 million on the first season, which just finished filming in New Zealand, according to government figures.

The series utilized 1,200 beings in New Zealand directly and another 700 indirectly, according to the figures.

“This is a shock to everyone, ” said Denise Roche, the director of Equity NZ, a union representing musicians. “I certainly feel for all the small businesses, the tech people who invested in this for the future. Nobody had any inkling.”

Roche said beings feel let down by Amazon, although she added that the industry was resilient.

Amazon said the as-yet untitled sequences makes place on Middle-earth during the Second Age, thousands of years before the events depicted in Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” books and the precede movies directed by Peter Jackson.

Filming began last year but was delayed due to the coronavirus. Post-production on the first season will continue in New Zealand through June before the testify premieres on Prime Video in September next year.

The move to Britain comes precisely four months after Amazon indicated a deal with the New Zealand government to get an extra 5% bonu on top of the 20% — or $92 million — it was already claiming from New Zealand taxpayers under a screen product grant.

Many locations around the world compete for creations by offering same, magnanimous rebates.

At the time of the bargain, New Zealand’s Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash indicated by the yield “ve brought” financial and tourism benefits to the country for years to come and create “an enduring legacy for our screen industry.”

Nash said Friday the government had found out simply a epoch earlier that Amazon was leaving and he was disappointed by the decision. He said the government was withdrawing the furnish of the additional 5 %.

Amazon said it no longer intended to pursue collecting the extra money. But it will still walk away with at least $92 million from New Zealand taxpayers.

“The international movie sector is fantastically competitive and highly mobile. We have no dejections about leaving this production our best shot with government corroborate ,” Nash said. “However, we are disappointed for the regional screen industry .”

New Zealand became synonymous with Tolkien’s nature of orcs, elves and hobbits after Jackson directed six movies in the South Pacific nation. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit” trilogy compounded grossed nearly$ 6 billion at the box office.

When Amazon Studios firstly announced today that it would film in New Zealand, it said the pristine coasts, woodlands, and ridges impelled it the excellent arrange to bring to life the primal perfection of early Middle-earth.

The sizable ensemble cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Sophia Nomvete and Lloyd Owen.

Read more: time.com