Amazon's Lord Of The Rings Series Has Found Its Director
The Lord of the Rings movies are a series of legendary films with a cast of equally legendary characters. However, the movies are far from perfect, since they forgot several characters and scenes from the source material. But hey, that's the cost of making a movie: There's not enough time to touch on everything and everyone, and if you try to cram them in, you risk making the movie feel bloated. TV shows, on the other hand, can often give the story and characters a chance to breathe. While Amazon is producing a Lord of the Rings series that might solve the movies' issues, characters and plot are only part of the equation. Without a director to lead the fellowship, it will ineffectively spin its wheels.
While the Lord of the Rings movies were directed by the irreplaceable Peter Jackson, he elected to stay away from Amazon's rendition. This left audiences a tad worried, since Jackson was the only director to do the books justice. Prior to him, Ralph Bakshi directed his take on The Lord of the Rings with an animated movie, and Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass directed a Return of the King musical cartoon — complete with orcs singing '80s techno songs. These animated renditions are somewhat infamous among audiences, but fans can rest assured that Amazon's Lord of the Rings will be helmed by a director who is more than up to the task of filling Jackson's shoes.
All hail Wayne Che Yip, the new director of Lord of the Rings
When New Line Cinema produced Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, the company signed on native New Zealander Peter Jackson to direct the movies. He hadn't led anything quite on the scope of these films, but he proved there was more to him than directing underappreciated horror gems. While Amazon's rendition of Lord of the Rings is being filmed in New Zealand, it doesn't sport a director who hails from the country. However, the show's newest director lugs around an impressive résumé.
Recently, Amazon Studios announced that British-Chinese director Wayne Che Yip has joined the Lord of the Rings crew. He will pick up where J.A. Bayona, who directed the show's first two episodes, left off. Yip has quite a few beloved TV shows under his belt, and yes, some of them are available on Amazon Prime. His most notable works include three episodes of Utopia, four episodes of Preacher, three episodes of Doctor Who, and one episode of Doom Patrol.
For Yip, this opportunity is a dream come true. In the press release, he explained, "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."
We will have to wait and see how Yip's directing compares to Jackson's work when Amazon's Lord of the Ring series releases, whenever that is.