The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Unviels First Look: Release Date, Plot & More to Know
The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will take fans back to the past to examine a time long before Biblo and Frodo set off on their respective journeys in Middle Earth.
Premiering the first twenty minutes of The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Middle Earth's first anime film has shared its release date along with a first look at the animation style.
The film will take fans back to a time before Biblo and Frodo embarked on their journeys in Middle Earth. Despite featuring new characters not seen in the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies, the film aims to maintain its aesthetic.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim release date and plot
The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will arrive in theaters on December 13th, taking place hundreds of years prior to the events of the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, the film is a prequel to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Set 183 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, a legendary king of Rohan, and his family as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings. Helm goes on to be the namesake for the stronghold Helm's Deep.
Following the character Helm Hammerhand, director Kenji Kamiya discussed the upcoming project and the themes inherent in this new animated project, "This is the story of the most powerful king in Rohan's history, someone who defeated his enemies with his bare fists. Why did his lineage have to end with him?"
He continued, "I think there is a lesson in hubris there and also for a need for responsibility and awareness in their power. We live in an age where, all over the world, we face the reality of war again. What, then, is power? What is the responsibility of those who possess it? It is something they need to think about by thinking together with those who don't."
Teaming up with Warner Bros on this project is Sola Entertainment, which has had a hand in some familiar anime properties in recent years. The production house's resume includes Tower of God, The God of High School, Shemue: The Animation, and Ninja Kamui. Past the upcoming Lord of the Rings film, the studio will be once again working with Warner Bros on the upcoming series Lazarus.
Producer Philippa Boyens, who previously co-wrote the Lord of the Rings film trilogy revealed to Entertainment Weekly how deciding to make this project an anime helped in expanding its story, "When they suggested anime, that's when my brain really started whirring. Immediately, the idea of telling this story came to me. They had a number of different ones they were going to pitch me, but I was quite bossy, and I was like, 'No, I know exactly what this needs.'"
She further added, "I immediately felt that it would work for anime because it's so character-based and also contained within its own world. It speaks to certain things that work really well with Japanese storytelling."
Cast of The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim
Following are the voice cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Warner of Rohirrim,
- Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand: The hot-tempered king of Rohan who attempts to protect his people.
- Gaia Wise as Hèra: The tomboy-ish daughter of Helm who helps defend their people. Wise compared the character to the female heroes of the anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984).
- Luke Pasqualino as Wulf: The ruthless leader of the Dunlendings who seeks revenge against Rohan for the death of his father.
- Miranda Otto as Éowyn: A future shieldmaiden of Rohan who narrates the film.
- Laurence Ubong Williams as Fréaláf Hildeson: Helm's nephew and successor to the throne of Rohan.
- Shaun Dooley as Freca: Wulf's father, a Dunlending lord with Rohirric blood who attempts to claim the throne.
Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski have been cast in undisclosed roles.
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