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.

Colossal Biosciences - which announced in April that it had brought dire wolves back from extinction (only to be met with a howl of critics who called the claims overstated) - is teaming up with filmmaker Peter Jackson on a new animal revival project.

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