Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series has added British Chinese director Wayne Che Yip to its creative team.
In an official announcement, Amazon confirmed Yip will helm four episodes of its J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation, continuing the work of filmmaker J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), who directed the Lord of the Rings series' first two episodes. “It is a true honor to be invited into the world of Tolkien by [showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay] and Amazon Studios," Yip said. "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 has previously directed multiple episodes of the comic book-based TV shows Cloak & Dagger, Preacher, Happy! and Doom Patrol, in addition to three episodes of the modern Doctor Who. He also helmed two episodes of Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television's upcoming The Wheel of Time series, based on the popular fantasy novel property of the same name by Robert Jordan.
Filming on the Lord of the Rings series began in early 2020. Originally, the show's creative team planned to finish shooting the first two episodes before going on a production hiatus, with the intention of reviewing Bayona's footage then proceeding with filming on the rest of Season 1. However, due to complications resulting from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Bayona wasn't able to complete his episodes until Dec. 2020. The series' creatives have since made some changes to their vision for the show, with actor Tom Budge having recently confirmed he left the series after Amazon "decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying."
The full synopsis for Amazon's Lord of the Rings series reads,
Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
Produced by Amazon Studios, The Lord of the Rings stars Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker and Sara Zwangobani. The series is expected to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
Source: Amazon Studios