Air New Zealand has one-upped itself.
Two years ago, the airline debuted a Hobbit-inspired in-flight safety video to promote the first movie in The Hobbit Trilogy. This video featured Hobbit and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, along with actors and characters from the film. Since its debut online, the video has racked up 12 million views.
This week, Air New Zealand is out with a second Hobbit-themed safety video, directed by filmmaker Taika Waititi, to promote the third and final Hobbit film set to come out this December. It features cast members from all three Hobbit films (the final of which is due to be released later this year). Actors appearing include Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Dean O’Gorman (Fili the Dwarf) and Sylvester McCoy (Radagast). Also making an appearance is, again, Peter Jackson.
This latest safety video, entitled The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made, was shot over six days across a number of New Zealand’s Middle-earth locations, including Hobbiton and Central Otago, both of which appear in The Hobbit Trilogy.
Of the video, Peter Jackson said, “Air New Zealand has created yet another fantastic video to celebrate The Hobbit films. This latest offering combines members of our cast and our locations with Air New Zealand’s unique personality. I had a lot of fun on the set with Taika and the team and look forward to seeing the video on board.”
Since its release October 22, the video has amassed 3.5 million views on YouTube. Time will tell whether or not it meets or exceeds the viewership of the original.
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