The Middle-earth animated film about Rohan was shown behind closed doors at a film festival – and has been very well received by critics and fans alike
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim isthe next Middle-earth film to be released in cinemas.And that will be in 2024 if nothing else is postponed. The first images from the upcoming animated film are now available, along with some exciting details about the story and cast.
We summarize all the important information for you. Looking for the next Middle-earth movie? Then head this way for all the info on The Hunt for Gollum.
What the first images show
Here you can see three scenes from the movie at X (formerly Twitter):
First look at ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM’
In theaters on December 13th pic.twitter.com/kCvr3UDQXf
– DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 11, 2024
Important figures can be seen here, such as Héra, Princess and Shieldmaiden of Rohan. Also her father, King Helm Hammerhand (yes, that’s right, the famous Horn of Helm’s Deep is named after him)
The throne room is probably the Golden Hall of Meduseld in the capital Edoras. And the man with the torch is probably a new antagonist called Wulf. The outfits and backdrops seem to be strongly based on the previous Middle-earth films
On social media, the first real glimpse is going down pretty well, for example here with the Tolkien fans onReddit However, some are also asking how big the intersection between anime and Middle-earth fans is. User milkeyfreshh writes for example:
I’m pretty excited to see how this does at the box office. Do casual hdr fans want to watch anime? Do anime fans give a shit about Tolkien? I know anime has grown in popularity over the last 30 years, but we’ve never had an anime crossover with such huge mainstream success before.
The director of War of the Rohirrim is a true animation expert:Kenji Kamiyama, who became famous for Ghost in the Shell, among other things.Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, two leading figures from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, are involved as executive producers.
The story takes place around 200 years before Bilbo Baggins sets off for Erebor with the dwarvesand comes into possession of the ring. Many details are not yet known, but twenty minutes from the film were shown exclusively at the Annecy Animation Film Festival and, according toVariety “received thunderous applause”.
More information about the cast is also known:Miranda Otto returns to her role as Éowyn– as the narrator in the film. Brian Cox (Troy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) voices King Hammerhand and Gaia Wise (Picnic with Bears) lends her voice to Héra
The War of the Rohirrim will be released in cinemas from December 11, 2024.
Our Middle-earth fans are asked: How do you like the first real images from Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim? Are you excited to learn more about the Riderfolk’s past or are you too put off by the fact that it’s an animated movie? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
