King Kong, Balrog, Smaug… starting to sense a theme. Peter Jackson has a thing for giant creatures — now he’s trying to resurrect one for real
While most of us assumed Peter Jackson would be neck-deep in hobbits and orc prosthetics ahead of his new Lord of the Rings flick The Hunt for Gollum, it turns out the Oscar-winning director has also been cooking up something far weirder in his New Zealand lab/backyard: the resurrection of an extinct, human-sized bird.
Jackson has teamed up with US-based genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences (of almost-dire-wolf fame) to revive the Giant Moa, a flightless bird that once roamed New Zealand up to 3.6 metres tall and weighing in at 230 kilos.
Extinct for about 600 years, the Moa is now the feathered focus of a full-blown de-extinction project, and Jackson himself is footing part of the bill.
“It’s more Jurassic Park than Lord of the Rings,” Jackson admitted in a new IGN interview, “but I’ve always loved the idea of de-extinction.” Bonus points: it could also help endangered species, he adds.
Colossal — already deep in dodo DNA — is working alongside Ngāi Tahu, the South Island’s largest iwi (tribe), to make the moa-miracle happen. With genome sequencing already underway for all nine moa species (yes, there were that many), the aim is to start with the biggest and weirdest one first. Naturally.
Jackson’s even got a personal stash of around 400 moa bones, which he’s been donating to the project for DNA sampling. “The more bones, the better the genome,” he says, casually, as if this is a totally normal hobby and not something straight out of sci-fi.
So, why the moa? For Jackson, it’s deeply local. “The moa is a bird that’s part of the country’s DNA. It had a massive impact on Māori when they arrived. Having access to this rich protein source literally changed them into Māori over the next 200 years,” he explains. In other words, resurrecting it isn’t just cool — it’s culturally significant, and kind of poetic.
Colossal CEO Ben Lamm echoes the sentiment. “The moa looks like the closest thing to a dinosaur modern humans ever lived with,” he says. “Imagine being a kid and hearing a real Jurassic Park story — but it’s in New Zealand and it’s a giant fluffy bird.”
The big dream? Bring back all nine species. Inspire the next generation of scientists. Possibly terrify a few tourists.
Meanwhile, Jackson is still juggling fantasy films, with The Hunt for Gollum dropping December 17, 2027 — and yes, Andy Serkis is back in goblin-creep mode. But you can’t help feeling that Jackson’s heart might be just as invested in those ancient feathers as it is in Middle-earth.
Because in the end, whether it’s dragons, wizards or prehistoric megabirds — Peter Jackson just really loves bringing lost legends back to life.
