WELLINGTON, Oct 24 — Air New Zealand — which has the privilege of calling itself the official airline of Middle-earth — has done it again and released a new in-flight safety video with cameos from Elijah Wood, Sir Peter Jackson, elves, orcs and Gandalf.

In an impressively cinematic Hobbit-inspired production titled, “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made,” elves and ‘halflings’ show flyers how to don their oxygen masks, while Gandalf teaches passengers how to brace in the event of an emergency.

Since being uploaded October 22, the video has gone viral receiving more than 537,270 views just a day later.

A troop of orcs carrying flaming torches inform flyers that a lighting system will guide them to their nearest exit, while Jackson makes a quick appearance asking passengers to stow away their electronic equipment.

The Kiwi carrier reset the standard in in-flight videos when it released “An Unexpected Briefing” in 2012, a tie-in with the first instalment of Jackson’s movie, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” enlisting the same cast of characters — elves, hobbits, and orcs — to show passengers how to fasten their seatbelts.

The video went viral on YouTube and has since received more than 11.8 million views.

Actor Elijah Wood. — AFP pic

Since then, other carriers have followed suit, pouring money and talent into big-budget in-flight safety videos.

Last fall, Virgin America released a “Glee”-style song and dance video featuring flying nuns and rapping children, while Virgin Atlantic created an animated demo that pays homage to classic films and genres to keep flyers’ attention.

Just when you thought Air New Zealand couldn’t top itself, however, the carrier again raised the bar by recruiting “Golden Girl” Betty White and “Love Boat” captain Gavin MacLeod last year in a cheeky in-flight safety video that was set in a retirement home.

The latest J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired safety video is being released as a tie-in with the cinematic release of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” the final film in the Hobbit trilogy, set to hit theatres in December. — AFP/Relaxnews