A new clip from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has been released, teasing a return to a familiar Middle-earth. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, the upcoming anime takes place hundreds of years before Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring, chronicling the origins of Helm's Deep and a war between Rohan and the Dunlendings. As has been shown off in The War of the Rohirrim's trailers, the film features Peter Jackson returning as an executive producer, Miranto Otto narrating as Éowyn, and a recreation of Jackson's version of Middle-earth.
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IGN now shares an 8-minute clip from The War of the Rohirrim, unveiling an intense start to the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie. The clip opens with Dunlendings fleeing from Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), who is immediately established as a fearsome warrior. The clip also sets up the larger conflict between Rohan and the Dunlendings, with Wulf (Luca Pasqualino) attempting to avenge his father's death at Helm's hands.
Hèra (Gaia Wise), the film's protagonist, also plays a large role in the clip, and she's shown to be quite a warrior herself, fending off trolls before retreating into Helm's Deep, which was then called the stronghold of Hornburg. The clip ends with a brief look at the scenes to come, including a sword battle between Hèra and Wulf, Mûmakil, and seemingly a return to Edoras, the Rohan capital. Check out the clip on the IGN website at the link below:
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Click here to watch the opening scene of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
What The Clip Means For The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim
Peter Jackson's Middle-earth Returns
One of the key tenets of the marketing for The War of the Rohirrim thus far is that, unlike Prime Video's The Rings of Power series, the upcoming anime takes place in the familiar world of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Locations, including Helm's Deep, are recreated essentially exactly as they appear in his films. It's notable, too, that the familiar voice of Éowyn will be the one to guide audiences through this new adventure.
Though not featured in the clip, Christopher Lee's Saruman will also feature in the narrative, with the production having used existing voice recordings of the late actor to construct a new performance.
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What's more, the clip also features the returning Rohan motif from Howard Shore's score for Jackson's trilogy. The biggest difference between the upcoming film and Jackson's trilogy, clearly, is the fact that The War of the Rohirrim is an anime. It's unclear what the audience appetite will be for a Lord of the Rings anime, but all the returning elements could be enough to draw viewers in.
Our Take On The War Of The Rohirrim Clip
Will The Jackson Connections Be Enough?
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The response to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been somewhat mixed from audiences, and The War of the Rohirrim releasing several months after the conclusion of the show's sophomore outing could work in the movie's favor. For many, Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is held on a very high pedestal, and this movie is an opportunity for those people to return to that vision of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.
Jackson will return to Middle-earth as an executive producer once more with Andy Serkis' upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
What remains to be seen, however, is what the crossover looks like between Lord of the Rings fans and anime fans. The medium alone could be enough to turn off some who love Jackson's trilogy, despite the animation shown off thus far being quite striking. Based on the opening few minutes, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is looking like a worthy return to Middle-earth.
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Source: IGN
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
PG-13
Animation
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm's Deep.
- Director
- Kenji Kamiyama
- Release Date
- December 13, 2024
- Studio(s)
- New Line Cinema , Warner Bros. Animation , Sola Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Cast
- Brian Cox , Miranda Otto , Gaia Wise , Luke Pasqualino , Laurence Ubong , Shaun Dooley
- Runtime
- 134 Minutes
- Franchise(s)
- The Lord of the Rings
- Sequel(s)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Main Genre
- Fantasy
