Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is temporarily pivoting from filmmaking, pouring millions of dollars into a project which hopes to bring an ancient species back from extinction.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, have invested $15 million in a joint effort with bioscience company Colossal and the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre in New Zealand to bring the South Island giant moa back from extinction. The moa, known as moa nunui by the Māori, was the tallest species of bird on record to ever have walked on Earth and was one of the tallest, surpassed only by the Malagasy elephant bird. They existed for about 4,000 years and went extinct roughly 600 years ago.
Jackson, an avid collector of moa bones, got in touch with Colossal after hearing about the company’s efforts to “de-extinct” the dire wolf and the woolly mammoth. “The movies are my day job, and the moa are my fun thing I do,” he said. “Every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa.”
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Although scientists say it is “unlikely” that the moa could be completely brought back from extinction, it’s possible that its traits could be infused into other bird species. “There’s lots of different scientific hurdles that need to be overcome with any species that we pick as a candidate for de-extinction,” explained Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief scientist. “We are in the very early stages.”
For his part, Jackson seems to be all in. Although the director specified he’s “certainly not retired” from filmmaking during a recent interview with Screen Rant, he finds the moa consuming more of his imagination these days. “To me, de-extincting the Moa would be just as exciting, if not more exciting, than any film I could possibly make,” Jackson admitted. “I’ve made a lot of movies, but to see the giant moa brought back would be a level of excitement that I think would supersede anything at this point in time.”
Peter Jackson Invests Millions to 'De-Extinct' This Species first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 11, 2025
