The director explained that "every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa," a flightless bird similar to an ostrich that went extinct 600 years ago.

Along with Colossal Biosciences, the filmmaker is joining an indigenous-centered partnership to resurrect the 12-foot-tall moa, dead for centuries.

LOTR’s Peter Jackson joins a Māori-led plan to resurrect the long-lost giant moa by combining ancient culture with bold science.