Air New Zealand (Auckland), the official airline of Middle-earth, is giving fans a sneak peek at its next inflight safety video, an epic tale which will conclude the airline’s highly successful three year association with The Hobbit Trilogy.

The video will celebrate the third and final film in The Hobbit Trilogy – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and the airline’s partnership with the film franchise and feature cameo appearances from director Sir Peter Jackson, Weta Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor and cast members of the films.

The yet to be titled safety video was shooting this week amidst dramatic Central Otago, New Zealand scenery under the direction of Taika Waititi of Boy and What we do in the Shadows fame. Taika Waititi will also make a special cameo appearance as ‘The Wizard’.

Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Mike Tod says the video will be a real celebration of Middle-earth and all that it has to offer.

“Air New Zealand has been the official airline of Middle-earth for more than a decade now and we want to mark the final film in The Hobbit Trilogy in a very special way. This video brings together iconic New Zealand film locations with some of the famous faces and Taika Waititi’s signature directing style. We can’t wait to unveil it on board later this year,” says Mr Tod.

Air New Zealand has invested several million dollars into global marketing campaigns and initiatives to celebrate the Hobbit films and attract visitors to New Zealand including branding two Boeing 777-300 long haul aircraft with Hobbit imagery (see below).

Above Copyright Photo: Wingnut/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-319 ER ZK-OKO (msn 38407) displays the image of Smaug, the dragon, as it departs the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

Above Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-319 ER ZK-OKP (msn 39041) was the first ANZ Triple Seven in the special “The Airline of Middle Earth – The Hobbit” livery.

The airline’s latest safety video follows on from the highly successful An Unexpected Briefing released in 2012 which has become a global hit, with more than 12 million views online (see below).

Above Video: Air New Zealand.

The new safety video is expected to be rolled out across the airline’s fleet from late October 2014.

Top Copyright Photo: Air New Zealand. Safety video director Taika Waititi is pictured on the set. An Orc tests out Air New Zealand’s new Premium Economy seat.

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Below Video: How Air New Zealand does social (one of most successful uses of social media by any airline):