Colossal announced an effort to genetically engineer birds resembling the extinct South Island Giant Moa—which once could stand 12 feet tall (3.6 meters)—in collaboration with the New Zealand-based Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and Peter Jackson. Together with his partner Fran Walsh, Jackson is investing $15 million.

“The movies are my day job, and the moas are my fun thing I do,” said Jackson, adding that he hopes he sees the project succeed in his lifetime. “Every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa.”

Outside scientists say the idea of bringing back extinct species onto the modern landscape is likely impossible, although it may be possible to genetically engineer animals with similar physical traits.

The giant moa project started with a phone call about two years ago. After hearing about Colossal’s efforts to “de-extinct”—or create genetically similar animals to—species like the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf, Jackson asked Colossal’s team, including CEO Ben Lamm, “Are you doing the moa?”

Then Jackson put them in touch with experts he’d met through his own moa bone-collecting. At that point, he’d amassed between 300 and 400 bones, he said.

In New Zealand, it’s legal to buy and sell moa bones found on private lands, but not on public conservation areas—nor to export them.

Paul Scofield, an advisor on the project and senior curator of natural history at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, first met the filmmaker when he was summoned to Jackson’s house to help him identify which of the nine known species of moa the various bones represented.

“I thought he might have one or two bones, but not, you know, probably the largest private collection in New Zealand,” said Scofield.

The moa had roamed New Zealand on long legs with huge feet for 4,000 years, until they became extinct around 600 years ago, primarily due to overhunting. A large skeleton of a South Island Giant Moa was brought to England in the 19th century, now on display at the Yorkshire Museum, prompting international interest in the long-necked bird.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.