It has been the better part of a century since J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was first published and, yet, the fantastic world that the author introduced in that seminal novel continues to inspire fans and creators all over the world. Case in point, yet another new chapter in the saga of Middle Earth is in the works by the name of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
While this upcoming movie is obviously going to be a part of the cinematic franchise of Lord of the Rings movies that director Peter Jackson helmed, it sounds like it will be an almost entirely new experience even for the most hardcore fans of the mythology, in the sense of both its narrative and its visual medium. For a better understanding of what we mean by this, read on to learn about all the most essential facts that we know so far about The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim — starting with when this journey begins.
What Is The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim Release Date?
While I am sure there are some Tolkien fans who wish the latest feature film based on the world of Middle Earth would show up on our 2023 movies schedule, the end of this wait isn't quite that soon. According to an exclusive report by Variety, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation have set April 12, 2024 as the official release date for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The film is hitting theaters almost exactly a decade after the last time a Tolkien story was adapted for the big screen, with 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies — the third and final installment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy inspired by the 1937 novel that started it all. However, the most recent title set in Middle Earth was the Amazon Prime original TV show, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which also has a second season in the works. Not to mention, The War of the Rohirrim is not the only upcoming installment of the popular fantasy franchise as there is also a new cinematic trilogy in development.
Brian Cox Leads The Voice Cast
The Lord of the Rings movies (including The Hobbit trilogy) have always had the advantage of a talented ensemble of actors to bring Tolkien’s most iconic characters to life — such as Sir Ian McKellan, who was perfectly cast as the wizard, Gandalf the Grey. According to Deadline, the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim cast will boast the same level of esteem with Emmy winner Brian Cox lending his voice to the lead role of the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand. In an interview with popular LOTR blog, The One Ring, executive producer Philippa Boyens shared her interesting connection to the Succession actor — having once heard a rave review of his 1987 stage performance in Titus Andronicus by friends — and, in the following excerpt, explained how that led to his casting:
And they talked about the way in which his rage was fueled by this grief. And the underlying horror that was in the storytelling. And that kind of resonated with me when we were thinking about the Helm role. Because it just — it spans a lot of different emotions.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim voice cast also features Gaia Wise (of 2015’s A Walk in the Woods fame) as Hammerhand’s daughter, Hera; 2013’s Snowpiercer star Luke Pasqualino plays Wulf (a character previously portrayed in Tolkien-inspired video games); and franchise veteran Miranda Otto reprising her role as Éowyn, but as the narrator of the story this time.
Other actors set to star in currently unspecified roles include Bridgerton cast member Lorraine Ashbourne; Yazdan Qafouri from Netflix’s British crime thriller, I Came By; Benjamin Wainwright (best known for BBC One’s World on Fire); and Laurence Ubong Williams from the 2021 horror film, Gateway). Also lending their voices are The Witcher cast member Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman (whose last film was Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike from Beasts of No Nation, Bilal Hasna from Hulu’s fantasy comedy series, Extraordinary, and veteran actor Janine Duvitski, who is known from movies like About a Boy and Terence Malick’s The New World.
The Film Is An Anime-Style Prequel To The Original Trilogy
At the top of this article, we teased that The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was going to be different from previous installments of the iconic franchise, particularly in the way it look different anything fans of Tolkien have seen yet. To be more specific, the film is not being presented in live-action, but in Japanese Anime-style animation. Thus, in aesthetic, it will greatly differ from Rankin and Bass’ 1977 TV movie based on The Hobbit and Ralph Bakshi’s feature-length adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy from the following year.
According to the Variety article mentioned earlier, the movie is also a prequel to Peter Jackson’s original LOTR movies, taking place more than a century earlier and following Brian Cox’s character, Helm Hammerhand, and the creation of the stronghold depicted in The Two Towers known as “Helm’s Deep.” In her interview with The One Ring, Boyens said about the film, “It’s not about the Ring, it’s not about the Dark Lord. All of that is very peripheral to the story.”
Veteran Animator Kenji Kamiyama Is Directing
In charge of reinterpreting the world of Tolkien’s work with a whole new look is esteemed veteran of the medium. Also according to the aforementioned Variety article, Kenji Kamiyama has been selected to direct The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The legendary artist has a career that spans decades and includes famous titles of the anime medium — such as one of greatest anime movies of all time, 1988’s Akira. More recently, he worked on an episode of the Star Wars anthology TV show spin-off, Visions; wrote and directed Adult Swim’s animated prequel series to Blade Runner, Black Lotus (which also starred Brian Cox); and served as head writer on Netflix’s hit anime series, Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045.
LOTR Trilogy Co-Writer Philippa Boyens Is Executive Producing
The exclusive report by Variety above also confirms that Philippa Boyens is an executive producer on The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. She has one of the closest ties to Middle Earth than anyone else involved with the project.
The New Zealand native has been a frequent collaborator of Peter Jackson’s for years — most notably as one of the Academy Award-winning filmmaker’s co-writers for the LOTR trilogy and for the Hobbit movies. She also worked with Jackson and Fran Walsh on the screenplay for the 2005 King Kong remake, 2009’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones, and 2018’s Mortal Engines.
On the downside, it does not appear that Peter Jackson is involved with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. However, in spite of that, with the talent that is involved, this movie could still be something really precious.
