Elijah Wood Shaded The Rings of Power With Just One Emoji
The Rings of Power has received a fair amount of criticism in its preliminary season for its interpretation of Middle-Earth, based on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Yet no one likely expected to see such criticism from the hobbit veteran himself, Elijah Wood. His disapproval appeared in a tweet from the official @elijahwood account itself, which artfully casts some shade towards this latest screen adaptation of Tolkien's works.
What did Elijah Wood tweet about RoP?
Wood replied to a post by Variety, promoting its article discussing the show. The tweet made reference to the series moving the entirety of its production from New Zealand to the United Kingdom. Wood's response was a single and simple facepalm emoji. Clearly, he was less than enthused about the decision to move the location which has long been the on-screen basis for Middle-Earth.
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New Zealand has been close to the actor's heart since the completion of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy he starred in; which was filmed almost entirely there on location. He has mentioned publicly on a number of occasions his love for the country. And the connection he has to it after forming such close friendships there, plus the experiences they shared during the making of the films. This obviously makes him feel the show will lose some of its authenticity by moving away from a location that has now become synonymous with Tolkien's works.
Amazon announced they would be moving the production of the series from New Zealand for its second season before the first episode had aired. They did not specify the reason for changing the show's location and thanked the New Zealand government for their dedication and hospitality in shooting the first season there. However, it is speculated the move is due to an attempt to reduce costs. The UK facilities at Bray Studios will be much cheaper for production than on-site in New Zealand. Considering the series has broken records as the most expensive television production of all time, it is not surprising that Amazon is seeking to minimize costs where possible going forward.
How did others respond to Elijah Wood's tweet?
Many fellow Twitter users reacted similarly to Elijah's tweet. Many made jokes equally expressing their surprise at the decision. Some quipped that the third season would likely be moved somewhere more unexpected, including Malibu or Vancouver. Others merely pointed out that the UK's scenery doesn't hold the same majesty as the epic landscape of New Zealand, expressing concern for the quality of the ongoing seasons.
Wood has made no other comments or criticisms of The Rings of Power since his original post. Moreover, recently he has joined the cast (among other LoTR alums) to show solidarity in their message against some remarks regarding the show's inclusion of black actors within the series, which have been viewed as racist. The actor has shared a number of posts along with the unanimous message "You Are All Welcome Here".
Although his thoughts concerning the rest of the series remain his own, he certainly seems to disagree with the decision to move away from New Zealand. And like many Tolkien fans, he will likely be hoping it does not affect the series' portrayal of the fictional world he is very attached to.