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When it comes to the studios, the talk of the town these days is IP, and there's rarely one as ripe as The Lord of the Rings. The world of Middle Earth is vast and inviting and has always kept audiences coming back for more over the decades. J.R.R. Tolkien's characters and world-building are unmatched by almost any other fictional universe, with detailed prose, tons of prequels, books, and appendices on the history of the world, made-up languages with their own complete grammar, and lore deep enough to adapt movies and TV shows from for the rest of the foreseeable future. Peter Jackson's original trilogy are some of the most successful movies Warner Bros. has ever distributed, and the celebrated award-winning films are still revered to this day and maintain a strong fandom.
Last year, Prime Video successfully launched the prequel series The Rings of Power, which is the costliest show ever produced, but Warner Bros. still holds the rights to theatrically-distributed Lord of the Rings films, and they intend to continue that with The War of Rohirrim next year. The prequel will be an anime adaptation of Tolkien's world and will take inspiration from the look and feel of Peter Jackson's original trilogy. If a Lord of the Rings anime sounds like your jam, read below to find out everything we know about the upcoming feature film.
Editor's Note: This article was updated on August 26 with the latest release date.
The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim
AnimationFantasy Sci-FiThe untold story behind Helm's Deep, hundreds of years before the fateful war, telling the life and bloodsoaked times of its founder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.
Release Date December 13, 2024 Director Kenji Kamiyama Cast Brian Cox , Miranda Otto , Shaun Dooley , Luke Pasqualino , Lorraine Ashbourne Runtime 130 Minutes Main Genre Animation Writers Jeffrey Addiss , Will Matthews , Phoebe Gittins , J.R.R. Tolkien ExpandWhen and Where Will The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Release?
The War of the Rohirrim will be released by Warner Bros. on December 13, 2024. It was previously scheduled to arrive on April 12, 2024, but has since been delayed as a result of the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. New Line Cinema announced they were fast-tracking a Lord of the Rings anime during the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, with a promise to maintain their collaborations with the Tolkien estate for more future films. Warner Bros. will distribute the movie exclusively in theaters, as CEO David Zaslav has promised they are committed to theatrical releases and won't be making movies that go straight to streaming anymore. But after the end of its theatrical and digital window, the film is expected to be available to stream on WBD's streaming service, Max. While you wait, why not revisit the first live-action appearance of the Rohirrim by watching The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Max? Here's the link:
Is There a Trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim?
Warner Bros is yet to roll out any marketing for The War of the Rohirrim, but that is likely to change soon as the studio is eyeing to release the first look for the film at the Annecy Film Festival set to be held on June 11 this year. So far, the only thing we have seen from the film is a piece of promotional artwork from Weta, released in February 2022, that showcases a battle scene likely to be featured in the film, whose look and character designs look heavily inspired by Peter Jackson's trilogy. While we wait for a trailer, here's one of the most epic scenes from The Two Towers, the one to beat when it comes to showing the Rohirrim at war:
What Is the Plot of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim?
Set 183 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The War of the Rohirrim tells the story of Helm Hammerhand—the ninth king of Rohan and the last of its first line of Kings—and the origin of the fortress Helm's Deep. Peter Jackson's The Two Towers features a statue of Helm Hammerhand, and his life is detailed in Tolkien's appendices. Born to the House of Eorl, Hammerhand is remembered for guiding the Rohirrims through times of turmoil plagued by wars and conflicts with the Dunlendings, a tribe of wild men who were driven to live on the borders of Rohan by the Rohirrim and sought vengeance against them.
King Helm was in conflict with a powerful Dunlending landowner with Rohirrim blood named Freca, who tried to arrange a marriage between his son Wulf and King Helm's daughter Hera, but accidentally gets killed by Helm with one mere blow. This led to an attack on Rohan by the Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf in which Helm was defeated. Forced to retreat, he took refuge in what later came to be known as Helm's Deep, named in his honor. But that is not the end of the story, but merely the beginning of Helm's legends as the man continues to defend the Rohirrim through life and death, while his daughter Hera has to find the courage in her to lead her people in resistance against those hellbent on their destruction. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is most likely going to follow these events based on the time period and the characters in the film, but what liberties and direction they take with the story is yet to be seen.
Who's In the Cast of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim?
Scottish thespian Brian Cox will lend his powerful voice to King Helm Hammerhand in The War of the Rohirrim. The Succession actor will be headlining the cast along with other talented voice actors and is expected to bring the same amount of gravitas to the King of Rohan as he does to his other roles. Luke Pasqualino, best known for his role as Freddie McClair in Skins, will play the role of the rival leader Wulf in the film, with voice-over artist Shaun Dooley (Elden Ring) voicing his father, Freca. Gaia Wise will be playing Helm's daughter Hera in the film and Miranda Otto will reprise her role as Eowyn from Peter Jackson's original trilogy, a descendant of Helm who will serve as the narrator for the whole film. Additionally, Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Bilal Hasna (Sparks), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), and Janine Duvitski (Grown-ups) are also set to be part of the voice cast.
Who's Making The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim?
Prolific anime director Kenji Kamiyama, who has directed installments of popular animes like Ghost in the Shell and Ultraman, and worked in the art department of classics such as Akira and Kiki's Delivery Service, is directing the film, which is his second collaboration with Warner Bros. as he previously developed the Blade Runner anime series, Blade Runner: Black Lotus. The screenplay has been written by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, based on a story by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The film is produced by Joseph Chou, with Carolyn Blackwood, Philippa Boyens, Richard Brinner, Jason DeMarco, and Sam Register serving as Executive Producers.
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