Robert Redford arrives in Tokoroa

Robert Redford arrived in New Zealand yesterday. Photo / AP

Hollywood legend Robert Redford set tongues wagging after touching down in Auckland en route to his next film set - the central North Island town of Tokoroa.

Redford, 78, arrived at 5am yesterday on a flight from San Francisco.

A source told the Herald the Oscar-winner's incognito arrival was foiled by terminal gossip.

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"I was at the airport collecting my son from the same flight and I learned this snippet at International arrivals," she said.

"Apparently [he] arrived with his wife and they were whisked away from the airport out of sight in a private car."

The actor is doing a remake of Pete's Dragon.

Redford is in the country to film a Disney remake of Pete's Dragon, about a 9-year-old orphan and his pet who escapes from evil parents to live with a lighthouse keeper.

Sources said Redford and his entourage made for Tokoroa, where the actor was sent straight to makeup and wardrobe.

South Waikato deputy mayor Jenny Shattock said the star's arrival was something of a surprise - she didn't think he was due until the end of the month.

"I think it's fantastic," she said. The filming was in Hancock Forest, a secluded bush site well away from town, she said.

"The mayor and myself were invited out there last week but we couldn't go as there was a full council meeting. But I think we'll be seeing if we can take the trip now."

Ms Shattock said due to the site's remote location not too many people were aware of the film.

"There was a casting call a while ago but other than that it's a bit under the radar."

It wasn't the first film to be shot in Tokoroa - Yogi Bear was made there too, she said.

Redford will be in New Zealand for three weeks. Locations for the film, which blends CGI and live action, include the West Otago town of Tapanui, Wellington and the Bay of Plenty.

The film is said to diverge from the 1977 original, a musical, set in Maine on the east coast of the United States.

The screenplay is co-written by its director, David Lowery, best known for crime romance Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013).

Redford will join Kiwi actor and Lord of The Rings star Karl Urban, Bryce Dallas Howard, 10-year-old Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley and Oona Laurence.