The Lord of the Rings series on Amazon Prime Video ropes in Hunters, Doctor Who director Wayne Che Yip

Amazon Studios has announced that British Chinese director Wayne Che Yip has been tapped as the director of the original series The Lord of the Rings.  Yip joins the international ensemble cast, currently filming in New Zealand, to direct four episodes. He continues the work of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona, who directed the first two episodes of the series. Yip is best known for his work in Hunters, Preacher, Utopia, and Doctor Who, and has recently directed episodes of Amazon Studios’ upcoming epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. “It is a true honour 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,” said Yip. Set thousands of years before the events of JRR. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. 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. The series is led by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne & Patrick McKay; they are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond and Sharon Tal Yguado, co-executive producer Wayne Che Yip, and producer Christopher Newman.