On Wednesday, the Screen Actors Guild and New Zealand's Actors Equity said that actors can work in the two Hobbit prequels.
However, Warner Bros. still might be looking to move production of the two films elsewhere.
"Next week Warners are coming down to NZ to make arrangements to move the production off-shore," director Peter Jackson and producer Fran Walsh said in a statement, according to MTV News. "It appears we now cannot make films in our own country—even when substantial financing is available."
The joint statement added that the actors guilds’ “damage inflicted on [New Zealand's] film industry by NZ Equity/MEAA is long since done,” according to MTV.
Jackson said that he still wants to keep the $500 million film in New Zealand.
"We will continue the fight to keep the film in NZ, but ultimately this decision belongs to Warner Bros," he stated.
“We are however, hugely heartened by the incredible show of support from Wellington actors, technicians and crew. It is a reflection of the terrific pride NZ film workers have in their industry and their very real fear of losing their jobs.”
Meanwhile, if Warner Bros. makes the decision, the film could head to the UK, according to The Guardian.
Walsh told the newspaper that “they have had people in the UK taking location photographs,” meaning that the film could be moved to the British Isles, where author J.R.R Tolkien lived and from where he drew his cultural inspiration.
Eastern Europe and Scotland have been mentioned as possible filming locations amid the weeks-long strike.
"They've got a huge studio there that Harry Potter has vacated, the ex-Rolls Royce factory, that they say would be perfect for us,” Walsh added.
