The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy created a huge horde of fantasy fans and made Aotearoa just as famous as Middle Earth. Now, thanks to Amazon, we're getting the full back story too.
It will be the most expensive television production in history with an investment reportedly of over $1 billion so far. And that's just for season one, which was shot in New Zealand.
Did they spend all that on blocks of cheese? Wilson parking fines?
Whatever the money went to, it's an epic fantasy series with a lot to live up to. The Lord of the Rings films made $5 billion and earned 17 Oscars.
The Project's Kim Crossman asked the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power about the high-adrenaline adventures they experienced while filming in our country.
"I bungeed. I zorbed in Rotorua," Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir) told The Project. "I did the speedboat, the Shotover."
Markella Kavenagh (Elanor Brandyfoot) was less adventurous. "We also did karaoke. And depending on how confident you are that can be high adrenaline."
The Rings of Power was shot across 38 locations, from Auckland to Central Otago. The show also put to work local businesses - everything from catering and transport to our digital wizards at Wētā Workshop.
"My character certainly was hugely informed by the surroundings of New Zealand and the people of New Zealand," Sophia Nomvette (Princesse Dia) told The Project. "Ancestrally, spiritually, and literally."
Leon Wadham (Kemen), who grew up in Wellington, said he still can't believe he was a part of The Rings of Power. "I was in primary school when they were making the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was in drama school when they were doing The Hobbit. I never once thought I'd be part of a Tolkein story, so the whole thing is surreal and an absolute blessing."
"There were 50 or 60 dwarves standing around," Owain Arthur (Durin IV) said. "It was just between takes, nothing massive was going on, and that's when I went, 'Oh my god, I'm in Lord of the Rings. I'm actually in Middle Earth'."
As for the rumours and secrets and spoilers swirling around the internet, Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Queen Regent Miriel) said, don't bother with all that. "Let it unfold. Just be surprised."
More than 1200 New Zealanders worked on season one of the show, so there's a good chance you'll catch one of your mates, cousins, or coworkers when you tune in. But will seeing Rory from accounting dressed as an Orc sour the experience?
Only one way to find out: The Rings of Power premieres Friday, September 2 on Prime Video.
