NEWSFrom Middle-earth to Moa: Sir Peter Jackson Backs De-Extinction Project
July 8 2025, Published 1:54 a.m. ET
Get ready for the wildest celebrity collaboration you never saw coming! Sir Peter Jackson, the legendary director who brought us Middle-earth and all its fantastical creatures, is now part of an even more epic real-life tale: helping to resurrect the South Island Giant Moa, a humongous, long-extinct bird.
Jackson has joined forces with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, which is essentially the brain trust of New Zealand’s principal Māori tribe, and Colossal Biosciences, a high-tech genetic engineering company based in Texas. This isn't just some science experiment; it’s giving us major Jurassic Park vibes, but with an incredible cultural twist.
The Ngāi Tahu people are leading the charge, from the top-secret lab research to figuring out where these colossal birds will eventually roam again. It’s a significant development, a powerful statement that merges cutting-edge science with the ancient wisdom of Indigenous communities.
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Archaeologist Kyle Davis relayed, “Our earliest ancestors in this place lived alongside moa, and our records, both archaeological and oral, contain knowledge about these birds and their environs. We relish the prospect of bringing that into dialogue with Colossal’s cutting-edge science as part of a bold vision for ecological restoration.”
Sir Peter Jackson, ever the visionary, is clearly thrilled about this groundbreaking project. "With the recent resurrection of the dire wolf, Colossal has also made real the possibility of bringing back lost species," he dished. "There’s a lot of science still to be done – but we can start looking forward to the day when birds like the moa or the huia are rescued from the darkness of extinction. Exciting times lay ahead!" Beyond the mind-blowing science, this partnership is poised to create significant buzz among the locals. We’re talking new jobs, and potentially a whole new kind of eco-tourism where you might actually get to see a real-life giant moa. For younger generations of Māori, this presents a unique chance to explore science and technology while honoring their rich cultural heritage."
As Dr. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s Chief Science Officer and a renowned evolutionary biologist, perfectly put it: "This partnership represents an unprecedented opportunity to combine indigenous ecological knowledge with genomic technology to better understand not just the moa, but the entire ecosystem they inhabited." In other words, this isn’t just about bringing back an animal; it’s about a massive, positive shift in how we approach saving our planet.
