Middle Earth changes islands?
 

I caught this little news item while surfing the Interwebs this morning and have no idea what it portends for a television series I will probably not view in any case. But perhaps someone more knowledgeable in Tolkien lore than me can explain whatever significance this production decision implies for those viewing audiences desperate for anything even remotely "Tolkienesque."

Amazon’s ‘criminal’ decision to move Lord of the Rings filming from New Zealand to UK sparks epic debate over ‘real Middle-earth’

https://www.rt.com/uk/531993-amazon-lotr-move-uk/

Personally I don't think it has much significance for anything at all.

It is a bit laughable for NZ thinking it's the "real" ME, when Tolkien had no special affinity for it.

What it suggests to me is that they weren't doing a whole lot of location filming. If, say, Ost-in-Edhil was like Edoras, a set built in a real NZ location, it would be hard to up sticks and move without Season 2 being a game of "Why have the mountains moved?". A TV series carries an expectation that we'll probably be revisiting locations, so they must be confident they can reproduce them in sound stages or CG.

hS

It's also possible that season 2 might be in completely different parts of Middle-earth making the switch easier to pull off.

Not to mention you have to literally hold the actors hostage for a few years to film the whole thing in New Zealand.