In 2021, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it was working on a new animated movie set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. On Thursday, the studio shared the first official trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and whether you’re a diehard Lord of the Rings superfan or just a fan of anime, you should find something here to like.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045), The War of the Rohirrim is set 183 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. The animated movie tells the story of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan.
Here’s the official synopsis of the movie from Warner Bros. Pictures: “A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg— a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.”
The voice cast includes Brian Cox (Succession) as Helm Hammerhand, Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) as his daughter Héra, and Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) as Wulf. Miranda Otto is also reprising her role as Éowyn, who will serve as the story’s narrator.
Like many others, I was underwhelmed by the first season of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power. That said, I can’t wait to see a tighter, more streamlined story set in Middle-earth that doesn’t have the pressure of setting up the original film trilogy. I don’t want to get my hopes too high, but this could be the franchise’s Andor if we’re lucky.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits theaters on Dec. 13, 2024.
