The ongoing WGA strike won’t stop Amazon from finishing filming on the second season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” – but it is going to cause a major change to the way the production is being handled.
Variety reports the epic fantasy series has nineteen days of filming remaining but, as per strike rules, showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, along with any other writer-producers are barred from participating in any writing-based duties during production.
That also includes making creative decisions on set. This has resulted in non-writing executive producers (Lindsey Weber), directors (Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper) and crew overseeing the last weeks of production in the United Kingdom.
Multiple units have been filming “Rings of Power” for much of the duration of the season. Payne and McKay also reportedly planned in advance with the production team for the possible writer’s strike.
Filming on the eight-episode second season began in October last year, with production shifting from New Zealand to the U.K., which has resulted in some headaches and unfortunate headlines during the shoot.
Despite the complications, work on some film and TV productions is continuing. However, a looming contract deadline for SAG-AFTRA and the DGA means the possibility of an even larger industry-wide shutdown is on the cards.
Source: Variety
